Picture archiving and communication systems: A multicentre survey of users experience and satisfaction

A multicentre study was undertaken to assess user's impressions of picture archiving and communication systems (PACS). A questionnaire was sent to 1518 clinicians in 7 UK trusts. Half of the 286 responders used PACS alone for looking at radiological images, having used the system between 2 and 5 years. 83% felt PACS benefited their work, 79% felt PACS was better than hard copies and 83% would recommend it. Several potential problems were highlighted. Half of responders had no training to use PACS. Of those, 50% stated that no training had been offered. A second concern was unreliability, with 20% feeling that the system was unable to be used at least 1 week every year. Third was the poor quality of images, due to the poor quality of the monitors. All these problems will need to be addressed by any trust intending to implement a reliable and useful system.