APUG
AGFA PACS USER GROUP MEETING
Wednesday, May 2, 2001
SCAR 2001
Grand America Hotel
Salt Lake City, Utah

Draft Minutes 

The educational meeting of APUG was held in conjunction with the SCAR 2001 meeting in Salt Lake City on May 2, 2001 at the Grand America Hotel.  Presentations were as follows:

·         Opening Remarks:  Pat Whelan, Chairperson APUG:  Pat reviewed the agenda as well as the goals for the coming year.  Emphasis on increasing enrollment and working together as a group with AGFA to maintain a solid voice on future endeavors.

·         Perspectives:  System Administration Across the United States:  Darren Sacks presented a look into the current trends in PACS system administration.  Purpose, coverage, duties and responsibilities spurring some questions and comments from Users and AGFA.  The continual debate of IT/ versus Tech continually emerges.  Most agreed a cooperative effort works best.

·         The Good, The Bad and The Ugly:  APUG 2001 Survey Results: Pat Whelan presented a power point presentation on the APUG survey.  Comments by users:

v      Annotations on Web 1000 are not showing

v      Integration information with Vendors to PACS

v      Perception of PACS users:  Everything is PACS problem

v      Wish for Reports to be generated out of PACS:  ie:  Penalty Box Stats

v      Clinician Satisfaction should be added to next survey

v      Overall state of AGFA address for next meeting

v      APUG needs differ from AGFA

v      Communication follow up method needed still

v      Request for a Q.A. place without going to Global support

v      Request for an advanced PACS Admin. Class

 ·         Missing Links:  PACS in the ER and OR:  Darren Sacks substituted nicely in a last minute effort to cover this presentation. Comments in regards to solutions and challenges especially with the O.R. were shared among users.

·         Suggestions among users for the O.R. included an Audio Visual cart to move around the room for the ease of location changes. The rolling cart made it easier for a downtime scenario, to replace with a cart from another room if necessary.

·         Stationary systems on a fixed table vs arm mounted were also mentioned.

·         Need to connect to a Zeus /Stealth neurological Holography with PACS

·         True size imaging acquired in landscape needs to be printed in landscape for relational measurements

·         Need a method of selective images for the O.R.

·         Ergonomic changes

·      Missing Links:  Web Issues:  Wayman Ferguson, AGFA Web 1000 Project Manager presented a power point demonstration relating to the AGFA Web 1000 product.

·         Recommend a traveling Web box to alleviate downtime and to utilize for training

·         User-Back up Files to convert to new box

·         Security needed to accommodate individual patient tracking

·         ZAC upgrade 

·   ASP What? Alternative Models for Continued PACA financing:  Presented by Dean Kaufman, Director of Marketing – AGFA.    Comments included references to two ASP information web sites:  allaboutasp.com and aspisland.com.  New ASP term is MSP (manage service provider)  AGFA took an aside to introduce Mike Mardino from Talk Technology outlining their recent partnership

·   The PACS Payoff:  Leveraging your Investments:  Canceled due to time constraints. 

·   AGFA Service Program 2001:  Presented by Joe Coffee, AGFA.  Uptime reporting and communications still needs to be done.  Service Engineers from AGFA say it is difficult to sift through the information to disseminate to their customers.

·   What to Watch:  Emerging Technologies and Enhancements in 2001:  Carter Yates spoke on how user ideas become part of AGFA.

 ·   Digital Mammography and other Clinical Services that can Break your PACS:  ????????Canceled

 ·   Closing Comments:  Pat thanks everyone for the great support and comments throughout the daylong event.  Suggestions from users included having AGFA hire a Radiologist. CD ROM burner for patient images is still being requested of AGFA.  Other vendors are offering this cheaply, E. Film and PACS Cube.