Radiology departments – and CT practices in particular – quite frequently manage many scanning protocols. For enterprise-level practices or entire networks, the number of CT protocols can be in the hundreds. Systematic quality reviews of CT protocols are required by law and are part of the quality assurance work at Karolinska University Hospital. The work is usually performed using manual methods like documenting protocol changes in Excel files or PDFs and categorizing them according to exam type for version handling, or not done at all due to resource constraints.
To tackle this challenge, the department of Pediatric Radiology at Karolinska University Hospital has started to implement modern protocol management tools for its Siemens Healthineers scanners by adopting the Siemens Healthineers teamplay performance management applications. The teamplay Protocols application provides remote access to imaging devices, and this enables central protocol management. It eliminates the need to manually obtain information onsite at scanners and helps provide high quality of care and standardization throughout the entire organization. It allows users to easily perform systematic quality reviews because all protocols and protocol history are in one place.
This case study takes a deeper look into the challenges of protocol management and shows how Karolinska University Hospital implemented a successful centralized protocol management system that adheres to the highest quality standards and produces effective results for patients.
Improvements with teamplay Protocols
Protocol management with teamplay helps save time and better utilize resources, because it reduces the required work hours for protocol revision and minimizes interruptions during daily imaging operations with patients.
“The teamplay digital health platform represents a huge potential for a worldwide collaboration with other institutions on a scientific level. Our vision is to use it as a community sharing place where we can exchange best-practice protocols and build a growing network with other healthcare professionals."
Department of Pediatric Radiology,
Karolinska University Hospital, Sweden