Scheduled study workflow: The system's view

At its simplest, a workflow is a sequence of events, initiated by a trigger event, such as when a study is scheduled. Messages must be transferred to different information and imaging management systems in the hospital based on these events. Understanding workflows allows you to optimize the interactions between the systems in the hospital. You can also troubleshoot problems when the workflow breaks down; for example, when a modality does not receive the proper worklist.

The following topics outline a typical, simplified, workflow for a scheduled study:

1. Pre-acquisition

2. Acquisition

3. Reporting

4. Results distribution

In each part of the workflow, from pre-acquisition to results distribution, you can see what events are passed to and from different systems in the hospital system, and what information these events convey.