Millennium regional PACS management: Strategies for successful implementation

With the advent of the new Millennium, Picture Archive and Communications System (PACS) technology has matured to levels sufficient to support open systems based, regional implementations. This shifts the site-centric PACS paradigm into broader scale, impacting facilities, workflow, business plans and ultimately patient care on a regional basis. Prudent and effective management of a regional implementation is critical to overall project success based upon a number of competing influences fundamental to the PACS including network infrastructure, clinical workflow, acquisition modalities, planning documentation, site preparation, acceptance testing, project communication, interface integration issues, etc. Risk mitigation is possible by understanding and managing the interrelationships of these influences through a phased approach with embedded management controls. The overall phases of regional implementation are not unlike site-centric implementations, consisting of Discovery, Planning, Preparation, Installation; Acceptance and Warranty/Maintenance; however, details which manifest over time are what provide significant management challenges. When balanced using a culturally reinforced policy of open, frequent and hands-on communication, regional PACS projects can be successfully implemented maintaining budget, schedule and scope thresholds.