Radiologists learn the art of managing change

Working with bleeding-edge digital technology has required radiologists to master the art of change management. Whether it's using reading protocols to tame the ever-growing stream of imaging data or navigating the tricky process of replacing an outdated PACS with a new one, the tools and strategies that help manage a rapidly evolving digital department can be found in this PACS and informatics supplement.

The increase in PACS implementations means that departments must deal with patients toting their images from other institutions on a variety of CD formats. An article on the Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise initiative describes its continuing efforts to provide a blueprint for interoperability between different products and systems with its new profiles for portable imaging data and for sharing medical documents across the enterprise.

And in an in-depth interview, Dr. Keith Dreyer, vice chair of radiology computing and information sciences at Massachusetts General Hospital, describes how reading protocols can bring efficiency, consistency, and accuracy to a radiology department's changing digital landscape.

-Merlina Trevino is assistant editor of Diagnostic Imaging