Physicians' views and assessments on picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) in two Turkish public hospitals.

A picture archiving and communication system (PACS) is a medical imaging technology which provides economical storage of and convenient access to images from multiple modalities (source machine types). PACS have been widely introduced as a credible alternative to the traditional film-based radiological service. This study was planned and conducted to determine the physicians' views and assessments on PACS in two public hospitals in Turkey. A questionnaire was prepared by viewing the literature related to PACS. The questionnaires were distributed several times to a total of 150 physicians two public hospitals in Ankara, Turkey. The overall response rate is 46%. Some questions required a graduated score in response and others an open ended response. The majority of physicians judged PACS to be a major advance for their hospitals with less frustration than using film high quality images and an improvement in their working lives and patient care. They reported that PACS gave them to radiology reports in short time. Also physicians believed that PACS has improved their consultations. Open ended questions were prepared with concerning the benefits and disadvantages of PACS. The assessments of the physicians demonstrated many more benefits than disadvantages of PACS in their hospitals. PACS has been accepted well by a wide percentage of hospital physicians. PACS evolves over time components are frequently replaced and so the users must expect continuous learning about new updates and improved functionality. The implementation of the PACS clearly contributes to an increase in the productivity of health professionals and physicians.