Rapid Deployment of Home PACS Workstations to Enable Social Distancing in the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Era

AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2020 Dec;215(6):1351-1353. doi: 10.2214/AJR.20.23495. Epub 2020 May 20.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE. Social distancing is considered an effective mitigation strategy for coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and remote interpretation of radiologic studies is one approach to social distancing within the radiology department. We describe the rapid deployment of home workstations to achieve social distancing in the radiology department at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. CONCLUSION. Transitioning from on-site interpretation to remote interpretation requires a careful balancing of hospital and departmental finances, engineering choices, and educational and philosophical workflow issues.

Keywords: COVID-19; PACS; coronavirus disease; professionalism; teleradiology.

MeSH terms

  • Alabama
  • COVID-19 / epidemiology*
  • Humans
  • Pandemics
  • Physical Distancing*
  • Radiology Information Systems*
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Teleradiology / methods*
  • Workflow