Using PACS audit data for process improvement.

Today, all types of data are used in various ways to provide useful information. PACS Audit data have not been typically used as a data source although it includes information that can be used for various purposes such as process improvement (PI). In a typical radiology workflow, examinations do not show up on a radiologist's unread worklist until the examination has been verified. An issue with clinical access to radiology reports was determined to be partly due to delays in the verification step. A PI goal was created to reduce this wait time. PACS audit data were mined using an in-house application to provide workflow time span information, and the particular span from arrived to verified was measured. The report also allowed specific examinations and users to be identified, and these data were used as a PI educational tool. The end result was a dramatic reduction in examinations taking longer than 1 h to be verified which reduced the time for report production and enhanced patient care.