1.
How can a consultant help with my PACS project?
A
professional consultant will help guide you through the PACS
project. You wouldn’t attempt a jungle safari without the
help of an experienced guide, so why would you take on the
extra responsibility of a successful PACS installation without
an experienced consultant who can act as your teacher,
advocate and mediator? Many radiology administrators do not
have the time or resources to thoroughly research and
implement PACS. The right consultant will assist you with
identifying your needs and ultimately help you
make an educated decision regarding PACS. [Return
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2.
What qualities should I look for in a consultant?
You should choose a consultant based on several factors. A
good consultant should be comfortable with and willing to work
with all of the various PACS vendors and must be personable,
as you will be working closely with them for several months.
The consultant should be organized, knowledgeable and
confident so your PACS project remains focused and on
schedule. Remember, your PACS consultant is going to help
steer you towards a decision in PACS so he or she must be
vendor neutral and have your best interests in mind. [Return
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3.
Why should I choose The Thomas Group as my PACS consultant?
In
addition to priding ourselves on maintaining a vendor neutral
position, our staff has a wide knowledge base with experience
in both the business and medical technology fields. The reason
many PACS installations fail is the lack of an established
implementation plan for the project. Through our experience,
we have developed a detailed implementation plan. Our
engineering experience allows us to understand your technical
needs. We will help filter the information so that it is
concise and in a format that allows for easy comparison. You
can feel confident that your facility has made an educated
decision based on good business sense, not one based on a
sales person’s representations. [Return
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4.
What does the term "vendor neutral" mean?
When
we state that we are vendor neutral, we are saying that we
have no preconceived notions about who should sell you a PACS. Furthermore, we do not endorse specific vendors.
We will evaluate your current technology, your needs, your
budgetary constraints and other issues specific to your
situation and collect all of the relevant information from
each vendor of choice that will help guide you to make an
educated decision regarding your PACS. [Return
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5.
How do we choose which PACS vendors to evaluate?
When
you are initially trying to decide which PACS vendors to
evaluate, you want to examine with whom you already have
established relationships. Who is your film vendor? Do they
have a PACS product? Who is the vendor for the majority of
your equipment? Do they have a PACS product? What about your
teleradiology company? Does your RIS vendor offer a PACS or
are they affiliated with anyone who does? What other vendors
do you work with? Next you want to ask other radiology
administrators who have installed PACS about the system they
purchased. Are they satisfied with their decision? Who was on
their top ten list? This process should result in a fairly
manageable list. [Return
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6.
How can The Thomas Group save my facility money?
In
steering you through the confusing world of PACS, we will
teach you to make an educated decision that ultimately affects
the bottom line. We do not ask the vendors to provide us
pricing until you have narrowed the field to a few vendors.
This will enable you to choose a PACS based on what you need
instead of who has the lowest quote. This saves you money
because you do not waste the time of your staff on equipment
that is inappropriate for your situation. Most importantly,
when you hire The Thomas Group, you are getting a
knowledgeable advocate who will negotiate on your behalf to
get you the best price possible. [Return
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7.
What if PACS is not right for my current situation?
PACS
is one possible solution for many common radiology problems.
PACS is not the answer for every client. As the technology
develops, you may want to re-evaluate your needs. The Thomas
Group can help you with cost containment and radiology
management in the meantime to help you move to the next level,
whether that is PACS or an alternative solution. [Return
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8.
What problems will PACS solve?
The
most common complaint of radiology departments that we hear
time and time again is FILM. The purchase, storage,
development, and handling of film tends to cause many problems
for radiology departments across the country. PACS is a
filmless alternative to traditional imaging answers. PACS
reduces the chance for lost images, allows a radiologist to
compile shorter studies, reduces the amount of times a patient
is exposed to radiation and offers more flexibility in
evaluating the images than normal film does. You can have more
control over the images and their manipulation. For example,
in a single, multi-slice CT, you can easily have more than 70
sheets of film; however, with a PACS your radiologist can
consolidate the images so that only the relevant ones are
printed. This reduces the number of sheets of film to two or
three sheets, making the study more manageable for the
radiologists and referring physicians. [Return
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9.
What problems will PACS create?
PACS
represents a significant change for most people who are either
directly or indirectly affected by radiology. Radiologists and
technologists will have to adapt to learning a new way of
processing and reading images, and let go of their traditional
ways of utilizing film. PACS images are not tangible in the
traditional sense. You cannot put them in front of a different
light and hold it at a different angle hoping to see something
new. This may be a difficult adjustment for some people. As
those affected by the change begin to work with PACS and
experience the flexibility of the system firsthand, resistance
will break down; and acceptance, even appreciation, of this
new technology will develop. [Return
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