Contact:

Administration & Registration

Cheryl Tallant

Email:  ctallant@sgaconsulting.net

 
The School of PACS Administration Frequently Asked Questions

• What courses are offered?

• What is covered?

DICOM in Detail

DICOM for image management, network image transfer, network printing, reporting, and media interchange/archiving; key terminology, information object definitions, SOP classes, query/retrieve, modality worklist, emerging implementations, DICOM networking and association negotiation, reading DICOM conformance statements; session includes exercises and evaluation/analysis of example conformance statements.

HL7 module: applications features, HL7 structure, encoding examples, HL7 needed for PACS integration, future HL7 and PRA/CCOW

Overview of IHE: integration profiles, IHE actors & transactions and shall-language examples, and IHE conformance statements

PACS:  The Core Concepts

is the first course in the industry to utilize a background-specific track structure. For a segment of the course, registrants are divided according to whether their primary training and experience has been of an IT nature, or of a clinical nature.

Each group progresses through content intended to help bridge the knowledge gap experienced by many PACS administrators, namely deficits in experience or understanding of one environment or the other (the registrant with significant expertise in IT and networks learns more about the clinical environment, modalities, organization and functioning of the clinical department, etc., and vice versa for those coming from principally clinical backgrounds).

Topics addressed in one or the other of the tracks include: what makes an acceptable image, radiologic procedures and modalities, radiology and patient care, roles and functioning of the radiologist and radiologic technologist; computers and digital imaging systems, networks and storage, migration of general radiography to digital, workstations, overview of network design for PACS.

General topics include: security and privacy, DICOM and HL7, PACS in operation, image management, PACS performance – QA/QC – trouble-shooting, system evaluation and acceptance criteria, department ergonomics, the management and business of PACS, re-engineering workflow, staffing – training considerations, policies and procedures, the role of the PACS administrator and management team.

PACS Comprehensive

PACS Comprehensive is an in-depth, more advanced level course organized in four major modules:

• Networking/IT Infrastructure/Security

• DICOM/HL7/IHE,

• Digital Imaging (fundamentals and issues in transitioning conventional radiography to CR & DR)

• The Management of PACS (including workflow, project management, and policies & procedures)

Modules range from approximately six to nearly ten hours, and are distributed over 4.5 days, Monday to Friday. This course also features site visit, a dinner with the faculty, and for select offerings - a lecture from a Visiting Professor.

• Who should attend ?

PACS administrators & management teams, RIS managers
Radiology directors & radiology business managers
IT / IS professionals
RTs, CT – MRI – ultrasound technologists
clinical/biomedical engineers – medical physicists – RSO’s

• Which course should I attend ? Are there pre-requisites ?

All courses are suitable for individuals currently in PACS management roles and those with systems about to be deployed. PACS – The Core Concepts is also useful for those considering a career change or who have acquired their knowledge in an OJT setting (ie without an opportunity for more formal and comprehensive, classroom instruction).

There are not formal pre-requisites, however -

PACS – The Core Concepts is especially suited to individuals with more limited PACS management experience, and a strong foundation in one or the other of the primary background areas – IT or clinical practice (technologist).

PACS Comprehensive is especially beneficial for those nearing go-live or with a system recently deployed, and with a more balanced knowledge of IT and clinical procedures/operations. For certain of the content, at least six months of PACS management experience is also helpful.

• Are the courses accredited ? Are continuing education credits awarded ?

DICOM in Detail and PACS Comprehensive are approved for 9.5 and 31.0 ASRT Category A credits, respectively. PACS The Core Concepts will be launched in October 2005 and Category A CEUs have been applied for (estimated - 20-21 CEUs).

• What is the SG&A School of PACS Administration?

SG&A Consulting, Inc. has provided PACS solutions since 1984, and is comprised of both inhouse consultants and a network of colleagues expert in both pre-deployment assessments and planning, as well as PACS system deployment, integration and project management, and post-installation operations and performance optimization.

• What are the benefits of attending the courses ?

System-specific training, as conducted on-site by applications specialists, is enhanced by the solid grounding in operating principles and fundamental concepts covered in the courses.
Ideally completed before applications training, the material covered in the courses can increase the effectiveness and knowledge retention associated with the learning process offered on-site.
Coupling formal, classroom experiences with on-site, follow-on, system-specific training is currently unique in the industry for establishing a more comprehensive and effective overall understanding of how to optimize system performance and increase user satisfaction.

• When are the courses offered ?

DICOM in Detail and PACS Comprehensive are each offered approximately six times per year. PACS- The Core Concepts will be offered two times in 2005, and 8-10 times in 2006. PACS – The Core Concepts will be offered in multiple locations across the U.S.

• Where are the courses held?

DICOM in Detail
The SG&A Learning Center, Arlington, TX (Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex)

PACS – The Core Concepts
The SG&A Learning Center, Arlington, TX (Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex)

PACS Comprehensive
The SG&A Learning Center, Arlington, TX (Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex)