Physician Perceptions of SingleView: A Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS) Federation Solution

Information Technology is changing the face of medicine. Prior research has shown many physicians believe access to the complete Personal Health Record (PHR) would be beneficial to patient care. Many times these medical records are distributed across system and organizational boundaries. International standards committees, healthcare organizations, and the United States federal government are expending resources on healthcare information exchange, but the impact these systems have on patient care has not been empirically demonstrated. This study investigated physician perceptions of SingleView, a health information system that enables the unified viewing of digital radiological images and related radiology reports contained in 12 independent Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS) silos at a single multi-facility healthcare organization. A quantitative analysis of SingleView was carried out through the creation of a survey instrument extending the DeLone and McLean Model for Information Systems Success. The results of this study suggest the additional images provided through the use of SingleView have added informational value that leads to increased net benefits for clinicians and radiologists.