Converting to digital image management is no small task. For the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, a multidisciplinary oversight committee structure and formal project management procedures have proven invaluable, according to Sue Ramthun of the Mayo Clinic.
The clinic formed what it calls a radiology digital environment committee (RDEC) to manage its transition to digital imaging. The RDEC is a multidisciplinary group that is responsible for overall strategy and project approval. It oversees several operational groups, which are charged with performing specific tasks.
"It didn't take us long to recognize that not only did we have multiple radiology user groups, but also IT folks, biomedical engineering (staff), and other groups that we probably hadn't even thought of that needed to be involved right from the get-go in planning an implementation of any digital imaging processes," she said. "Our oversight structure is built around that." Ramthun made her comments during a scientific session at the 2002 Symposium for Computer Applications in Radiology in Cleveland.
RDEC members include radiologists, physicists, information technology (IT) representatives, a radiology systems coordinator (RSC), a radiology administrator, and a director. Others attend RDEC's biweekly meetings as needed, Ramthun said.
One committee that the RDEC oversees, called digital radiology practice operations (DRP OPS), handles day-to-day electronic imaging issues. This committee reviews electronic imaging requests, analyzes project proposals, estimates work effort associated with the proposals, and prioritizes approved projects.
"Based on things that RDEC wants to proceed with, (this committee) puts them into place," she said.
Members of the DRP OPS include radiologists, physicists, the RSC, a systems and procedures analyst, an IT section leader, a radiology director, and others as needed. DRP OPS holds weekly operational meetings.
Another committee, DRP user support group, meets monthly to discuss how the system works in specific areas. Members of this committee include a radiology director, biomedical engineering, IT staff, a RIS team leader, the RSC, radiology film librarians, radiology nurses, and technologists from all modalities. In addition, imaging assistants from all modalities, desk personnel, and medical imaging technical services are also members. Others attend as needed, Ramthun said.
Process management
To ensure that initiatives are handled as efficiently as possible, the Mayo Clinic formulated a project management process. With it, the institution hoped to create a project framework, maintain consistency in evaluating projects, and define problems clearly. Providing systematic evaluations and structured implementation were two additional goals, Ramthun said.
The facility settled on a three-step process to achieve these goals. In the first phase, project proposal and analysis, the project scope is outlined. This allows the DRP OPS group to prioritize work (if it's worth doing), and also provides a reference and reality check for the project team, Ramthun said.
In phase two, a project recommendation form is completed by the DRP OPS group that contains decisions on project prioritization, recommended action, and solution. At this point a project manager is assigned, and a schedule of milestones and dates is created.
In the third step, a project plan documents project processes and completed work. Maintained by the project manager, the plan records project scope, objectives, quality control activities, member work effort, and overall schedule, Ramthun said. In addition, the plan provides updated project information.
Project management has yielded process structure, project team focus, an effective communication tool, and efficient resource management, she said.
"Prior to this, we took things on a first-come, first-serve basis, and we found that people were spending a great deal of time working on something that as a whole we didn't consider very important or not worthy of that much time," she said. "So this process has really helped us greatly in allocating resources. In summary, our experience identifies people, process, and follow-up as keys to successful digital imaging operations."
By Erik L. RidleyAuntMinnie.com staff writer
September 10, 2002
Related Reading
Blending IT, radiology operations yields dividends, September 4, 2002
BMC puts PACS vendors to the test, June 24, 2002
Can PACS be too much of a good thing?, May 2, 2002
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