Automating clinically relevant prefetch processes in picture archiving and communication systems solutions.

As picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) hit the mainstream of projects gaining attention and priority in healthcare organizations, the promise of achieving better operational efficiencies in the radiology department is at the forefront of the financing discussions. Although some positive economic returns have been documented from the early proponents of PACS, most of the PACS installations are still working through operational changes in regards to digital image prefetching to achieve this objective. The lynchpin for achieving the desired operational efficiency is the enabling of an automated, clinically relevant prefetch process for comparison studies from the digital archives. This report explores the solutions deployed at two hospital systems in Minneapolis to utilize a "comparative region of interest" data element to augment the body region information typically available for prefetching in the PACS system. With this information, the prospective PACS implementer will know how to build in their body region requirements up-front in order to maximize their operational efficiency benefits later.