Additions to the expanding PACS book shelf

The digital explosion of the past decade has resulted in a publishing fallout. A number of books devoted to PACS and related technologies, written by its pioneers and early adopters, have made their way into medical libraries. Among them are the following:

• Huang HK, ed. PACS: Basic Principles and Applications. New York: Wiley-Liss, 1999, paperback, 519 pp, $105. ISBN:0-471-25393-6

For those contemplating a PACS installation, this comprehensive guideline written by one of radiology's den fathers is a must. It contains 18 technical chapters ranging from the fundamentals of imaging modalities to image compression to networking to PACS pitfalls and bottlenecks.

• Hruby W, ed. Digital Evolution in Radiology. New York: Springer-Verlag, 2001, 343 pp. $129. ISBN:3-211-83410-9

This handsome, oversized hardcover book is a compilation of 34 scientific papers written by physician and scientific experts from five countries and assembled by Hruby, chair of radiology at Danube Hospital in Vienna, Austria. Danube, the world's first digital radiology facility, has performed over 1.2 million digital radiologic exams since 1991.

The book addresses a variety of issues to contemplate when planning digital radiology, including requests for proposal, hospital information systems, radiology information systems, large PACS projects, high-end workstations, information technology, speech recognition, and the economic aspects of digital radiology.

• Bauer J, Ringel M. Telemedicine and the Reinvention of Healthcare: The Seventh Revolution in Medicine. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1999, 246 pp, $50. ISBN:007-134630-9

Any inquiry into telemedicine is welcome at a time when the entire industry is being transformed by digital technologies. This book, directed at health professionals, policymakers, and consumers, is nontechnical; those wishing to learn the relative appeal of LAN, ISDN, or DSL should look elsewhere.

• Reiner BI, Siegel EL, Dwyer SJ. Security Issues in the Medical Enterprise. Society for Computer Applications in Radiology, 2000, paperback, 64 pp, $39.95. ISBN:0-9706693-0-5

Therapy for HIPAA angst. This SCAR security primer is designed so just about anyone -- IT professional, radiology administrator, clinician, or physicist -- can better understand the issues involving medical data integrity, confidentiality, and dissemination of information over the Internet.

• Reiner BI, Siegel EL, Smith EM. Archiving Issues in the Digital Medical Enterprise. Society for Computer Applications in Radiology, 2001, paperback, 124 pp, $39.95. ISBN:0-9706693-1-3

Issues concerning the archiving of digital images have become so compelling that SCAR has issued a book on the subject. It is the second in a series of primers on topics of importance that SCAR intends to release semiannually.

This 11-chapter, large-format softcover book includes contributions from experts of various backgrounds, including industry, consulting, law, academia, and private medical practice.

• Dreyer K. PACS: A Guide to the Digital Revolution, Springer-Verlag: in press.

A reference tool for radiologists, radiology residents, and radiology technicians, scheduled for released in October. The book will also be available at the Springer-Verlag booth at the RSNA meeting.

• Telemedicine for the Medicare Population. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2001, paperback, 196 pp. ISBN:1-58763-044-3

This new government document assesses 455 telemedicine services, representing 30 medical specialties, as they may apply to the Medicare population. It concludes that existing telemedicine programs demonstrate that the technology can be made operational, but most of the studies assessing the efficacy or cost are inefficient to permit definitive statements of support.