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makes the ability to easily input and transfer diagnostic and surgical images a key benefit. For one thing, visual evidence adds a wealth of information to an op note, especially when a physician can access it in the OR, his office or elsewhere. At Tucson (Ariz.) Medical Center's new $120 million, 4-story orthopaedic and surgical tower, integrated ORs that let physicians and staff store and retrieve images in picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) are a crowning highlight, says Stuart Katz, MBA, FACHE, director of services at the Tucson Orthopaedic Institute.
"Side by side, they'll have 2 images displayed on monitors before or during a case," he says. Pre-surgical diagnostic images depicting what they were expecting to see, and real-time imaging of what is currently in front of them. "They can do that comparison without leaving the table to look at a laptop. It's a broader, more in-depth picture."
They can then capture what's in front of them and push it to the PACS, where it's available for post-op, in-clinic discussions with patients and even to e-mail them copies directly.
The transferability of surgical images also holds a practical benefit for administrators and their facilities, namely cost and time savings. "The process is a lot more seamless," says Mr. DeConciliis, eliminating the time spent scanning images into EMR and practice management software or making sure surgeons have copies before they leave, and the price of printing. "You'd be surprised how much we spend on ink
and paper, especially photo paper."
Are you capturing this on camera?
"In the middle of surgery, sometimes, I'll pause for seemingly no reason," says Dr. Renton. If an assistant, nurse or tech asks what he's
doing, he'll reply, "Shhh! I'm doing a voiceover in my head to leave
enough time in the video to explain what I'm doing."
