Dear AuntMinnie.com Member,
If you own a car, you probably change the oil every 3,000 miles or so, get a tune-up every couple years, rotate the tires when needed. But when was the last time your imaging facility’s RIS or PACS was maintained?
Giving your information-systems network a periodic once-over is key to maintaining optimal performance, according to an article by staff editor Jonathan S. Batchelor that we’re featuring this week in our PACS Digital Community, at pacs.auntminnie.com.
Over time and with use, information-system performance can deteriorate incrementally without regular audits, according to John McMahan, a Florence, OR-based consultant featured in our story. Changing customer needs, new regulatory requirements, and new upgrades are also good reasons to conduct an IS audit, he believes.
Along with providing the rationale for an audit, McMahan offers advice on conducting a review, including five elements that shouldn't be missed. One key piece of advice -- when trying to find out how staff use your RIS or PACS, don’t take their word for it. Instead, sit down and watch how they interact with the systems.
For more advice on how to get your RIS and PACS networks running at top speed, just visit our PACS Digital Community. And if you want more advice from the most experienced experts in radiology -- AuntMinnie members -- just stop by our PACS Discussion Group by clicking here.
