Improved Workflow Through Interactive Documents
By Nick Briseno

Electronic documentation and automation is rapidly being adopted by many departments in the healthcare enterprise; especially in the areas of RIS, RIS/PACS and Voice Recognition. In particular syngo^® Workflow and its associated interactive documents are being implemented by many medical imaging departments. Syngo interactive documents have opened opportunities for optimizing not only technologist and radiologist workflows, but also other workflows found within the syngo workflow application.

Here is a partial list of interactive documents to consider: technologist communication, radiologist communication, transcription communication, film library communication, mammography technologist communication, syngo Patient/Order Entry communication, events tracking, and worklist management. The list of workflow efficiency is almost endless with interactive documents. The overall goal is for paperless (or minimal paper usage) environments, that allow for most or all patient information to be kept electronic, and most importantly, private, secure, and accessible.

Interactive Documents for Communication

Interactive documents can provide vital information to clinicians quickly and simultaneously. Documents can either be passive or active. Passive documents require the end user to deliberately open them when available, while active documents are built to automatically open at the time the patients’ information is accessed. Typical workflows for interactive documents communication are helpful while physicians provide protocol information for Cat Scans and MRI’s. After the radiologist has completed an interactive document, the information can automatically display a screen when the patient’s information is accessed by the technologist. This would provide the technologist with specific instructions on how to scan the patient and whether to utilize contrast media or not.

Interactive Document for Controlling and Managing Worklists

Interactive documents can also be used for managing worklists and events. For example, the given workflow is for Read Exam within an integrated Syngo Suite solution (Syngo Suite = Syngo RIS and Syngo PACS). This type of workflow requires heavy use of a Read Exam worklist, which keeps the radiologist focused during dictations. If a radiologist mistakenly mark items as being reported when it has not been read, it automatically drops from the worklist. These orders sometimes take days or perhaps even months before they are discovered as being unread. However, with a little innovation and a proactive approach, unread studies can be identified when they are not available on worklists. A PACS administrator can check a daily report for items pending to be read, but not on a worklist. To accomplish this, the end user managing this workflow could utilize an interactive document through Event Tracking in syngo that posts orders back to the Read Exam worklist, or by simply entering the interactive document titled as Post to Read Exam List. Using this method, very few, if any, studies will go untouched.

Interactive Documents for Entering Patient Information

Interactive documents can also be used to enter patient information. This information can be utilized for a number of things including: contrast screenings, sonographic studies, mammography, nuclear medicine, MRI screenings, and other types of information necessary for technologist’s workflow. Screening forms is a typical use of interactive documents. This information is kept electronic and secured for privacy and integrity. Although there are still many organizations utilizing paper workflows for screening forms, vendors are strongly encouraging users to migrate to interactive documents. Forms can still be printed if necessary; however, patient’s information is kept electronically for any period of time, depending on customer specifications.

Interactive Documents for Entering Additional Visiting Doctors

Visiting doctors can be entered using interactive documents. There is a specific code that needs to be followed for this type of document to function correctly. This type of interactive document requires steps in addition to typical interactive document set-up steps. Depending on the type of visiting doctor that is to be added, there needs to be a separate interactive document for each doctor “type.” Whether it’s a referring, ordering, additional, attending, or consulting doctor; each doctor type will require a specific “type” of interactive document. It is important to tie all necessary doctors to a visit, so that results distribution is optimized. This is especially important when everything is automated and results are automatically distributed at signoff.

There are many uses for interactive documents. Generally, these ideas are uncovered during customers’ needs analysis and workflow improvements. Stay tuned for additional information surrounding interactive documents and methods for promoting paperless environments. If you would like more information about syngo workflows, interactive documents or VCS services and solutions please call us at 610-444-1233 or email us at vcs@getvitalized.com. For more information about VCS visit our website at www.getvitalized.com.