A wiki, which is a dynamic website that promotes collaboration with multiple users by enabling them to add, remove or edit content, can be a powerful and useful tool for radiology departments seeking a way to manage all sorts of documentation that supports its PACS, according to a PACS policies and operations presentation at SIIM 2007 in Providence, R.I. yesterday.

Presenter Antoinette King, BS, RT, University of Maryland Medical Center, said that her department uses its wiki for an assortment of purposes, such as providing access to written standards and operating procedures, policies and procedures, vendor-specific training or documentation, and information for cross-training needs.

Once established, a department’s wiki can become a simple, user-maintained database in support of PACS that can be put to use as an almost limitless information resource, depending on need.

“We’ve found our wiki-based tool to be very beneficial,” said King, and it has become an essential part of their paperless system. They no longer rely on binders to organize piles of paperwork. The wiki is easily adjusted and flexible and it offers universal accessibility, she said.

Another benefits is that it requires no major technical expertise to operate, though you do need someone web-savvy to do the initial set-up for you. Media wiki software is also open-source, making it a low-cost option.

All of the PACS administrators in her department of 10 are encouraged to add to the wiki, and they average one hour a week editing and updating the wiki and three hours a week using it. Ongoing challenges include updating the wiki in a timely manner, a method of knowing when new information has been added and validating the information.

For information Media Wiki visit: www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki