Design and implementation of an integrated information model for optimizing workflow in radiology practice

Efficiency is crucial to economic viability in the current climate of intense competition in the healthcare industry. The heterogeneity of the information systems, RIS, PACS, HIS, DDS, often found in radiology practices has made it difficult to fully leverage these costly investments in information technology into efficiency gains. An approach to integrating these heterogeneous systems that will make information technology more effective as an efficiency tool, while preserving the separate hardware and software environment of each system, is presented. Based on an integrated information model and automated message passing between the different systems, this approach can be used to support an automated, proactive sequencing of the radiology workflow.© (1995) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.