Creating the PACS support team

Include documentation of any and all security training in the handouts and paperwork provided to staff.

Further retain sufficient copies of the documentation in a centralized location so when federal officials—or your hospital’s compliance officer—comes looking, you can ensure that your staff understand the proper security protocols, Reddinger said.

Convince the staff of PACS pragmatism

The best laid plans won’t get you anywhere if you can’t sway staff opinion. Follow these tips to ensure appropriate PACS teamwork:

Communicate for the buy-in. Nobody likes to be told what to do all the time. People need to participate in the decision-making process. If you facilitate their involvement, staff investment in PACS outcomes will follow. “Don’t make any dictator decisions,” Reddinger said. “Don’t tell staff it’s this way or the highway. You have let them communicate their needs and you need to listen to them.”

Increase urgency—inspire and electrify. “Tell people this is going to make their lives better,” said Reddinger. “Not only that, but it’s going to make your patient’s lives better. Then show them how.”

Demonstrate how the new system works, he said. Walk them through the process. Let them know that they are not alone. Tell them that they can do it and that you’ll work together to see that it happens.

Build the right team. The best—or worst—person for your PACS system may sit just down the hall. “While many among your current team will be able to make the transition, others may be unwilling or unable to adjust to new skill sets,” Reddinger said.That may mean that some people may have to be let go. He advised documenting your training attempts as well as getting human resources involved early in the process.

Empower action and remove obstacles. Cross-train your staff and offer preceptor training. Make sure that everyone is able to do every job in the department so no one stands alone.

“Don’t let staff say they can’t do something because they don’t know how or because it’s not their job,” Reddinger said. “Offer training so everyone performs as active team members.”

What not to do

Although planning and precision prove to be instrumental to PACS administrative success, any number of the following common pitfalls may muddle even the most astute minds:

Don’t take on too much at once. Change is difficult for even the most agile spirit. Staff often feel overwhelmed when asked to learn a multitude of new tasks in a limited time frame. Instead, when establishing capital and programmatic improvements, consider staff training and learning needs, Reddinger said.

Provide communication channels. Have an open-door policy to provide staff a conduit for communication. Chances are that those in the trenches will have ideas and difficulties that you, as an administrator, have yet to think of.

“You have to be able to talk to one another,” said Reddinger. “That’s the bottom line here.”

Don’t rely too heavily on vendor support. Many administrators expect their PACS vendor to enter the facility like a guardian angel. Although vendor training on the intricacies of a specific system is vital, there may be hidden costs and missed opportunities if vendors are the sole providers of PACS education for employees. “This kind of support can cost you big money,” said Reddinger. Sometimes, staff understand more about your specific system needs than will the vendor.

Accept blame and seek solutions. Problems will happen, Reddinger said—that’s life. Attempting to deflect blame, and therefore responsibility, only prolongs the search for resolution.

“Too often even those in administration forget it’s a team effort. Others say, ‘It’s not my problem, so and so did such and such.’ Forget it. Just fix it. Let’s get beyond the blame game and get to work on the next steps,” said Reddinger.

Form committees and continue to meet. PACS implementation is often seen as a one-time expense—the project is planned, executed, and completed. Don’t let that happen, said Reddinger. “Once the PACS system gets implemented, management forgets about it. They think everything will continue to flow smoothly. Unfortunately, we live in the real world and we know that’s not always the way it works,” he said.

Form a PACS committee that includes supervisors, radiologists, technologists, administration, and information technology (IT) support staff. Keep the meetings going, Reddinger said. This group will be vital to heading off PACS problems as time goes on.

Diffuse territory battles. In the trenches, IT and radiology support staff take their jobs seriously. Each may see the implementation of PACS as a threat to their professional stability.

Make sure that you hire or promote the best people for the position regardless of background—and regardless of territory battles. The IT staff may believe that the PACS system falls into their purview because, after all, it is about the flow of electronic information. However, the radiology support staff have specific understanding about how that information needs to be used by the radiologists, technologists, referring physicians, and others.

“It’s about customer service,” Reddinger said. “If the PACS is down and a patient has to wait, then we’re not doing our job. Put the territory battles to bed. If you can help, great. If not, get out of the way and find someone who can.”

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