Purpose
Radiology departments are continuously overhauling the way they function.
New software,
hardware and digitalization requirements have ensured Radiology has stayed at the forefront of the technology surge. In addition to the enhanced capability that improved technology automatically affords there is an increased demand from clinicians as well.
To keep up with increased workload,
departments need to streamline their work processes even further.
Improved communication is one way of doing this.
Currently most Radiologist tend to use ad hoc methods of communication,
ranging from phone calls...
Methods and Materials
The instant messaging system studied,
has been installed in the Radiology department of Aberdeen Royal Infirmary,
Scotland since March 2010.
The messaging system has been integrated within the voice recognition system and with one click a user list pops up.
User location and availability is easily discernable.
Focused one-to-one interviews were initially carried out with representatives of different user groups,
in order to highlight relevant topics to include in the survey.
A survey of 77 active users of the instant messaging system was then carried...
Results
A high response rate of 70% (n=54) was achieved.
For the first question with regards to the instant messaging system,
the results are described in the table below.
Table 1
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Neither
Agree
Strongly Agree
N/A
Do you think it has improved efficiency?
2
1
7
23
20
1
Do you think it enhances communication?
1
3
2
23
25
0
Do you think it speeds up reporting?
3
4
11
19
15
2
Does it make it easier to obtain second opinion?...
Conclusion
In order to maintain a smooth workflow,
efficient communication is paramount.
This becomes ever more critical with current departmental staffing levels.
A research study has also demonstrated integrated communication leading to a reduction in overall time taken to complete examinations.
This in turn has led to an annual saving in technologists time by up to 5 days (6).
Instant messaging systems can be developed in numerous ways,
including stand alone web-based systems (1),
systems integrated with imaging display software (4),
or as in our case,...
References
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Social translucence: An approach to designing systems that support social processes.
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Quan-Haase A,
Cothrel J,
Wellman B.
Instant messaging for collaboration: A case study of a high-tech firm.
Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication.
2005; 10(4),
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Ratib O,
Rosset A. Can PACS benefit from general consumer communication tools? Computer Assisted Radiology and Surgery.
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