Let’s face it, sooner or later you’re going to get a message on your scanner that your system is full of Pts and needs to be cleaned. Many folks rely on their PAC’s system as an archiving tool. That’s great, just as long your PACs administrator is keeping them available for at least 5 years. If you’re not using a PACs as an archiving medium, then it’s time to think about the best way to archive your Pt data so you don’t lose it. Usually, it’s something as simple as purchasing an external hard drive, hooking it up and sending the images over to it. Either way, please follow your manufacturers guidelines to ensure your saving the correct data in the correct way. 

So, why is this so important? Well, if your Dr. needs to see an old image from 2 to 4 years ago, you’ll have it. (Instead of just a report) It would be virtually impossible to keep 4 years of data on your system. So that 4-year-old bone scan, or Cardiology study, can easily be moved back on the to the active Patient directory, for processing, reviewing, etc. 

This will be a huge help in the future for onsite ACR/IAC accreditation audits, and for ensuring that all your data is properly backed on a routine basis. Both require proof that you have a way of archiving your data or having past images for a comparison study. 

Keeping your system clean from a lot of Pt data will also help the performance of your scanning system. The typical amount of time to keep on the system is 3 months, and the current month. Example: It’s Dec 1st. You should have all of Sept, Oct and Nov on your system. And then keep all of Dec, while your archiving Sept and Oct. At the end of Dec, you should be done archiving Sept, and ready to delete all of Sept, and so on.

Nobody likes to do database maintenance on their system, but if you don’t the consequences can be awful. If your system gets so full that new pt data cannot be acquired anymore, you could lose the current Pt you’re working on, and subsequently, past pts that you have scanned but not processed yet or haven’t sent to PACs or archived. It’s possible that you could lose any of your data at the worst time possible. 

Please avoid these issues by setting up a simple plan to archive and delete your Pts from the system on a regular basis. 

David A. Lewis MA, BS, ARRT (N) (R)

Applications Specialist