PICTURE ARCHIVING AND COMMUNICATION-SYSTEMS AND VASCULAR-SURGERY - CLINICAL IMPRESSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT

The purpose of this study was to determine the acceptance and clinical utility of a large scale picture archiving and communication system ( PACS) for vascular surgery. Ouestionnaires and one-on-one interviews w ere conducted with physicians and nurses in the department of vascular surgery at the Baltimore VA Medical Center where PACS has been in rou tine, hospital-wide use for more than 2% years. The perceptions of the clinical staff were assessed to determine the efficacy of PACS in com parison to the conventional film based alternative for the practice of vascular surgery and suggestions far improvements were solicited. The re was consensus among the vascular surgery staff members that the use of PACS enhanced their clinical practices, both in and out of the ope rating room (OR). Vascular surgeons heavily rely on image display in t he OR as a ''road map'' to help determine their operative approach and to guide their surgery. PACS offers unique intraoperative imaging cap abilities including rapid image retrieval and improved archival, cine review, the ability to modify image contrast, and the ability to obtai n direct quantitative measurements of the degree of vascular stenosis. The increased accessibility and availability of images throughout the hospital enables improvements in time management and in patient care. Copyright (C) 1996 by W.B. Saunders Company