Administrative Tools for Equipment Performance, and Utilization

A new software feature provides system administrators with a convenient way to monitor equipment performance, storage utilization, and volume changes with picture archiving communications systems (PACS) and radiology information systems (RIS).

The Carestream Digital Dashboard software developed by Carestream Health Inc. (Rochester, NY, USA), is designed to manage Kodak Carestream RIS, Carestream PACS, and Carestream information management systems. It was shown as a work in progress at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) annual conference and exhibition, held in February 2007 in New Orleans, LA, USA.

Administrators will be able to use the dashboard feature to verify that devices are operating and communicating on the network--without leaving their desks. A simple red/yellow/green display gives immediate feedback regarding the status of any monitored device. An integrated, product-specific tools menu puts the launching of frequently used tools just a click away. The dashboard also makes it easy to track the number of concurrent users for a device, the number of unread studies and performed orders, as well as the status of other tasks.

Moreover, the dashboard provides vital statistics such as patient name and identification (ID) conflicts and missing accession numbers that are crucial to maintaining the integrity of PACS and RIS systems. It also enables administrators to use product maintenance checklists for daily, weekly, and monthly tasks that help ensure optimal system performance.

Kodak also showed its Carestream PACS and Carestream RIS at HIMSS. The latest PACS software provides dynamic streaming capabilities that reduce the need for large bandwidth network connections, even for viewing of three-dimensional (3D), cardiac computed tomography (CT), and other extremely large image files.

Kodak's Carestream RIS platform includes a complete outpatient practice management system with patient scheduling, radiologist interpretation, report distribution, management reporting, and billing functions. This system equips imaging centers to handle all aspects of patient workflow beginning with verifying insurance eligibility and ending with submission of claims and posting of payments from patients and insurance companies.

Carestream radiology systems provide an architecture that addresses the diverse operational needs of clinics, imaging centers, hospitals, and healthcare networks, including orthopedic, mammography, and oncology facilities.


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