Few hospitals formally evaluate how their nonradiology physicians adapt to PACS, but Ghent University Hospital in Belgium did. What it discovered has been published in the February issue of the International Journal of Medical Informatics.
Two hundred physicians were affiliated with Ghent University Hospital in May 2006, when PACS was implemented. They were allowed to request hard-copy radiology images during a four-month grace period, but these no longer were available as of September (Int J Med Inform, February 2012, Vol. 81:2, pp. 88-97).
Researchers distributed three surveys to the physicians to identify what factors influenced them to accept and use the PACS. Survey forms were sent immediately prior to implementation, four months after implementation, when access to hard-copy images ended, and 15 months following the date of implementation.
The response rate was 23%, 26%, and 31%, respectively. Lead author Bram Pynoo, a researcher in the radiology and medical imaging department, and colleagues determined from survey responses that social influence was a major influencing variable. Physicians pressured to use PACS helped convince them to accept it. Additionally, ease of use was of greatest concern, whereas the usefulness of PACS became important only later.
Based on their findings, the authors recommended that when introducing PACS in a private hospital or clinic to create an environment where the use of PACS is strongly supported. Training should focus on the tasks that a physician already performs, and only after physicians have mastered these basic tasks should training about advanced functionalities be scheduled.
