Evaluation of PACS-induced organizational change.

Filmless digital imaging with a PACS will affect health care institutions by changing the handling of clinically relevant information, altering needed staffing levels, and possibly affecting both the quality and cost of care. Economic evaluation of PACS compares the costs and/or benefits of PACS with those of all other relevant alternatives. Other evaluations may focus on narrower research questions. This paper discusses methodological considerations in economic evaluation, methods of time measurement, and the methods and results of several applied assessments of PACS effects on the medical imaging department or the hospital.