PACS Role of Radiographer Flora M Atenciana

1. PACS Administrator (SA)
A new Role for the technologist
Flora M. Atenciana
Department of Radiology
Khorfakkan Hospital

2.  Talk Plan
 PACS Administrator
 Duties and responsibilities
 Certification to become PACS Admin.
 Qualification to become PACS Admin.
 Who is qualified to become PACS admin.
IT personnel or Radiographer?

3. HISTORY:
Earlier called System Administrators
 Early SA’s were basically learning on-the-job, because there was initially
no dedicated training available.
 Over the past 5-10 years, professional organizations and annual meetings,, as
well as the PACS 2005, 2006, 2007 meetings in San Antonio, Texas, began to
include dedicated tracks to educate these folks.
 In addition, several academic and commercial training institutes started to
offer training courses, seminars, and hands-on workshops.
 There are now computer-based training courses as well as text books on the
subject of PACS, and the essential standards that make these systems work,
DICOM and HL7.
 Vendors also provide SA training, but it is generally recognized that these
vendor-specific training sessions do not address system fundamentals and
mostly concentrate on the specific user interfaces of their equipment.
 As these training classes developed, it became obvious that there was a need for
certification to provide some indication of acquired skills, and also set a
baseline for training.

4. What is PACS AD.?
• primarily technical support people who spent most of
their time troubleshooting system issues.
 He/she has knowledge of the Hospital information
system (HIS) and Radiology information system (RIS),
and an understanding of the Health Level 7 (HL7) and
Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine
(DICOM) standards.

5. PACS Admin./(SA)
These individuals have a foot in two worlds:
 information technology and
 clinical healthcare

6. At present:
 Most positions in the field change dramatically as the
needs and resources of a medical facility change.
 These profession has taken on new dimensions, and
many PACS administrators are now expected to be able
to strategize and plan as well as provide technical
assistance.

7.  PACS administrators have started to devote more time
to related needs such as end-user training.
 In the interest of making new systems more accessible
for staff members, they might also help to design
programs to improve the design and administration of
the system.
 A PACS administrator can serve as a focal point for the
continuing development and improvement of a system
throughout a medical facility.
 In some cases, the PACS administrator spends so much
time on development and design that
a PACS coordinator handles the daily maintenance of
the system.

8. Duties and Responsibilities
 The job duties of a PACS administrator can vary widely,
depending on the size, scope and budget of the
medical facility.
 Coordinate with all radiologists and perform
troubleshoot on systems and administer everyday
activities of PACS system.
 Manages and implements the storage of all digital
images received.

9. Duties & Responsabilities:
 Manages, monitors, troubleshoots, backup functions,
implementation, & trains staff on the Picture Archive &
Communication (PACS) system.
 Works effectively with Radiologists & all departments
within Radiology to continuously improve the workflow
between the modalities, PACS, RIS & voice recognition.
 Develops & implements a plan for monitoring &
evaluation of PACS & continuous quality improvement
 Assures that all PACS activities & documentation meet or
exceed standards of accrediting & regulatory agencies.
 Records daily backups & insures quality of the system
input/output.
 Plans & schedules all maintenance & upgrades to the
network & provides feedback to department management
& radiologists

10.  In cooperation with Information Technology, ensures/assigns network
security by developing rules that will support user-defined workstation
settings, image distribution, archiving & acquisition of images &
system access.
 Provides for individualized & departmental orientation to PACS.
 Maintains the PACS network through the administration of file servers,
archives, workstations, ID terminal, RIS interface, CR gateway, laser
imager & any other peripherals.
 Maintains knowledge of current PACS technology & management
trends that are reflected in his/her practice.
 Identifies problems & takes appropriate action in identifying &
resolving problems
 Maintains an awareness of political, privacy, and ethical issues related
to health care, specifically in radiology.
 Coordinates and/or trains clinicians and department staff in the use of
PACS and related systems.

11. Certification to become PACS Admin
Two organizations currently provide certification
for PACS administrators.
 American Board of Imaging Informatics (ABII)
ABII offers the Certified Imaging Informatics
Professional (CIIP)
 PACS Administrators Registry and Certification
Association (PARCA)
PARCA offers a tract of exams that cumulate in the
Certified PACS System Manager.

12. Qualifications:
 2 years of project management experience required
 Must have some computer programming background, working with
Web Servers, knowledge of SQL and experience of any programming
language (C, C++, Javascript, etc).
 Proficiency with information technology and network infrastructure
with understanding of related software programs.
 Mechanical aptitude and ability with attention to detail.
 Excellent communication, organizing, and training skills.
 Clinical experience with emphasis on radiology systems.
 Demonstrates a sound knowledge base for clinical and managerial
decision-making.
 Demonstrates accountability and initiative to follow-up on error
correction, improvement of current methods, and contributes new
ideas to improve work practices.
 Demonstrates characteristics of a leader through role modeling, change
agent, flexibility, creativity, and risk taking in approaches to goal
setting and goal achievement.
 The profession requires strong knowledge of radiology and solid IT
skills,

13. Who is qualified to become
PACS Admin.?
IT personnel or Radiographer?