المستخلص: |
In this paper, the impact of the picture archiving and communication system (PACS) at King Khalid Hospital (KKH) in Saudi Arabia is examined. The primary objective of the study was to establish whether PACS has benefitted KKH through a reduction in the report turnaround time (TAT). To understand its impact at KKH, a sample of 768 medical imaging reports was selected from about 100,000 reports generated in the facility. The sample was divided into two timeframes: the pre-PACS period (1st January 2017 to 30th June 2017) and that post-PACS timeframe (1st January 2018 to 30th June 2018). A quantitative research approach, using quasi-experimental design, was applied for the study to achieve the set objectives. Data analysis was primarily carried out using descriptive statistics. The overall impact of PACS was the reduction in mean report TAT, from an average of 15.139 hours pre-PACS to 7.958 hours post-installation. The decline was statistically significant at 7.181 hours, or a decrease in mean report TAT of around 47.43%. A decline in average report TAT was also recorded across three different radiology modalities (MRI, CT &US) in both inpatient and outpatient departments: (23.27 hours pre-PACS down to 12.66 hours post-PACS for outpatient MRI; 16.82 hours down to 10.30 for inpatient MRI; 20.45 hours down to 10.08 for outpatient CT; 17.61 hours down to 8.69 for inpatient CT; 07.40 hours down to 03.49 for outpatient US and 05.25 hours down to 02.49 for inpatient US). The key derivation from the study was that PACS implementation at KKH had a positive impact on report TAT. A relatively small study sample and a short adjustment period after PACS implementation were the core limitations of the study.
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