Facing increased imaging demands, radiologists eye cloud-based PACS for streamlined workflows and enhanced access to patient data.
By Digital Health Insights
This is the final piece in a three-part series on picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) in the cloud. Part one discussed the general advantages of cloud infrastructure for PACS, and part two explored how reallocating PACS resources to the cloud can help reduce expenses.
For many years, radiologists have faced a perfect storm that’s making their job more stressful and contributing to burnout across the field.
Demand for imaging services has increased for several reasons1, from expanded insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act to a greater need for follow-up imaging amid higher survival rates for cancer. The volume of complex imaging services such as MRI and CT scans has risen compared to studies such as chest radiography and ultrasound. Though attrition rates in radiology aren’t higher than other specialties, not enough residents are matching into radiology, which contributes to a workforce shortage.
As health systems initiate efforts to reduce burnout in radiology, they must consider the impact of their technology stack. Legacy PACS solutions can place an operational burden on IT teams, contribute to sunk costs for maintenance, and force radiologists to use disparate on-premises tools with disjointed workflows and performance limitations. Adopting a cloud-based PACS positions health systems to bring greater efficiency and resilience to imaging, helping to address these issues
Adopting a cloud-based PACS helps position health systems to bring greater efficiency and resilience to imaging. These solutions can help radiologists work more efficiently, facilitating more immediate access to diagnostic tools, and patient exams from wherever they have access to diagnostic monitors. Additionally, health systems can more easily and quickly adopt and deploy automation tools that help reduce reading and reporting times.
Here’s a closer look at five ways an agile PACS platform such as GE HealthCare’s True PACS2 on Amazon Web Services (AWS) can help reduce stress for today’s radiologists.
Streamline workflows through system consolidation. By unifying imaging systems into a single, cloud‑based platform, True PACS on AWS reduces the friction and manual steps associated with managing multiple disconnected tools. Consolidated worklists, automated task progression, and consistent exam setup protocols help radiologists work more efficiently. Automated workflows minimize clicking and reduce dependence on separate worklist management systems, enabling radiologists to stay focused on image interpretation rather than administrative tasks.
Offer uninterrupted access. If imaging experiences downtime, ICU and emergency department operations screech to a halt, and radiologists cannot care for patients in need. The 99.999% uptime of AWS3 coupled with robust disaster recovery capabilities from True PACS provide uninterrupted access to imaging systems and make seamless workflows possible. Beyond the impact on day-to-day operations, such uptime helps health systems maintain accreditation and ensure high-quality care is available to all.
Modernize and Streamline Radiology Workflows. Legacy radiology systems often burden clinicians with outdated interfaces and rigid infrastructure that slow down care delivery. By contrast, True PACS modernizes the experience with intuitive tools, remote reading capabilities, and support for distributed workloads, helping radiology teams make better use of their available resources. And because it’s built on a scalable, cloud‑based platform, True PACS enables organizations to adopt new technologies and workflow enhancements far more quickly than traditional systems allow. This eliminates the need for extensive custom development or new infrastructure, allowing radiologists to integrate advanced tools and improve the quality of care with minimal disruption to daily operations.
Many health systems seeking to modernize imaging infrastructure think about the financial and operational advantages a transition to the cloud can provide. There are benefits to cloud-based PACS as well, that empower radiologists to meet the growing demand for imaging services while directly addressing the inefficiencies that cause burnout.
About AWS
Since launching in 2006, Amazon Web Services (AWS) has been providing world-leading cloud technologies that help any organization and any individual build solutions to transform industries, communities, and lives for the better. AWS for Healthcare & Life Sciences is the trusted technology and innovation partner to the global healthcare and life sciences industry, providing unmatched reliability, security, and data privacy. For more information, visit aws.amazon.com/health.
About GE Healthcare
GE HealthCare is a leading global medical technology, pharmaceutical diagnostics, and digital solutions innovator, dedicated to providing integrated solutions, services, and data analytics to make hospitals more efficient, clinicians more effective, therapies more precise, and patients healthier and happier. Serving patients and providers for more than 125 years, GE HealthCare is advancing personalized, connected, and compassionate care, while simplifying the patient’s journey across the care pathway. For more information, visit gehealthcare.com.
- Radiology workforce shortage a major concern for the American College of Radiology. Dave Fornell, August 22, 2024, Radiology Business. Radiology workforce shortage a major concern for the American College of Radiology
- True PACS is a solution made up of Universal Viewer, Enterprise Archive and Centricity Universal Viewer Zero Footprint Client. Only available in the US, UK and Canada.
- Reliability Pillar-AWS Well-Architected Framework. Reliability Pillar - AWS Well-Architected Framework - Reliability Pillar
Compassionate PACS: How agile radiology platforms reduce clinical stress - Digital Health Insights
