[ARCHIVED] Radiology Module: Manage imaging modalities and procedures

Imaging modalities (CT, MR, US, ...) enable the performance of different imaging procedures (CT Abdomen w IV Contrast, MR Head Neck Angio, ...) which can be encoded using standardized catalogs such as for example SNOMED CT, LOINC, RadLex Playbook. Imaging procedures take different amounts of time and not every imaging procedure can be done by every imaging modality. Furthermore, an imaging modality might only be available at certain days a week or currently in maintenance and thus not available at any given moment in time. A radiology information system should enable a healthcare facility to manage its imaging modality resources and help schedule imaging procedures in an efficient way.

Currently the OpenMRS radiology module enables a healthcare facility to order imaging procedures which are relayed to a Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) handling the communication with the imaging modalities (DICOM Modality Worklist). An OpenMRS administrator can configure a set of concept classes (which can represent a set of imaging procedures) as orderable by the radiology module. This allows a radiologist to only choose an imaging procedure from this pre-configured subset of concepts.

However, the radiology module has several major shortcomings:

• The radiology module does not keep track of the imaging modalities available in the healthcare facility. 
  Since imaging modalities are not managed:

  • A radiologist cannot order an imaging procedure to be done at a specific modality (for ex. the procedure needs to be done on a modality by a specifc vendor, type or location)

  • The mapping of imaging procedures to imaging modalities is not managed. An administrator cannot configure which imaging procedures can be done at what imaging modality.

  • Imaging modalities do not have a calendar. The healthcare facility thus does not have an overview of its capacity and capacity utilization.

• The duration of imaging procedures is not managed. An administrator cannot configure durations of imaging procedures.

• Although date and time can be entered when ordering an imaging procedure, they are not checked against existing orders. Imaging procedures can therefore overlap or be ordered when the healthcare facility is actually closed or the needed modalities are in maintenance.