The Johns Hopkins Health System and

Implementation of the Picture Archiving and

Communication System
 Strengths

 Long-running, formidable reputation for clinical
expertise
 Johns Hopkins enjoys tremendous prestige, having been
ranked first for 21 years running in the Best Hospitals
rankings published by U.S. News & World Report.
 Especially prominent in Ear, Nose and Throat,
Geriatrics, Neurology and Neurosurgery,
Rheumatology, Urology, and Rehabilitation medicine
 may not be critical in terms of general healthcare but the
tertiary institution definitely attracts a continuous
stream of local and foreign patients
 Strengths

 Referral and epidemiological center for
Baltimore/Washington metropolitan area
 Well-entrenched government contractor for overseas
social marketing and epidemiological campaigns
 Very strong as a teaching and research-oriented
hospital
 Weaknesses

 Comparatively mediocre in Oncology, Cardiology &
Heart Surgery, Diabetes & Endocrinology,
Nephrology, Gynecology, Orthopedics and
Pulmonology
 does not rank among the best when it comes to the
dread diseases that are endemic to North America and
Europe
 Relatively poor coverage of disadvantaged patients.
 Weaknesses

 Johns Hopkins is considered mediocre compared to
the following health care institutions:
 Houston’s University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer
Center
 New York’s Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center,
 The Mayo Clinic
 Cleveland Clinic
 New York-Presbyterian University Hospital of
Columbia and Cornell
 Opportunities

 PACS still relatively scarce but would advance ideal
of completely filmless data acquisition, sorting,
transport, storage, retrieval and display
 PACS has long promised to advance the state of electronic
health records, itself a long-running initiative of regulators
and health insurers.
 Paves the way for more widespread use of tablet PCs and
wireless terminals
 Opportunities

 Diagnostician radiologists and clinicians can count on more
rapid access to current and historical patient records, faster
throughput, sharper diagnoses, reduced length of stay, and
lower risks of malpractice costs
 In turn, Johns Hopkins itself can do a better job of assembling
radiology teaching materials, attain optimal communication
with physicians, and look forward to better staff retention
owing to improved morale and professional satisfaction
 Optimal compliance with regulatory and insurer EHR
requirements
 Threats

 Federal regulations of 2011 and 2012 put caps and
non-usage penalties on Medicare and Medicaid
payments
 Cost-benefit ratio of PACS remains questionable.
 Though the costs of putting enough bandwidth in
place and acquiring the software itself are substantial,
costs have declined sharply since the early and mid-
1990s
 Hence, one may reasonably expect that benefit-cost ratios
have improved.
 Summary
1)
STRENGTHS

Long-running, formidable reputation for clinical 1)
WEAKNESSES
Comparatively mediocre in Oncology, Cardiology
expertise & Heart Surgery, Diabetes & Endocrinology,
2) Especially prominent in Ear, Nose and Throat, Nephrology, Gynecology, Orthopedics and
Geriatrics, Neurology and Neurosurgery, Pulmonology
Rheumatology, Urology, and Rehabilitation 2) Relatively poor coverage of disadvantaged
medicine patients.
3) Referral and epidemiological center for
Baltimore/Washington metropolitan area
4) Well-entrenched government contractor for
overseas social marketing and epidemiological
campaigns
5) Very strong as a teaching and research-oriented
hospital
OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
1) PACS still relatively scarce but would advance 1) Federal regulations of 2011 and 2012 put caps and
ideal of completely filmless data acquisition, non-usage penalties on Medicare and Medicaid
sorting, transport, storage, retrieval and display. payments
2) Paves the way for more widespread use of tablet 2) Cost-benefit ratio of PACS remains questionable.
PCs and wireless terminals
3) Optimal compliance with regulatory and insurer
EHR requirements
 STRENGTHS
• Long-running, formidable reputation

for clinical expertise
• Especially prominent in Ear, Nose and
Throat, Geriatrics, Neurology and
Neurosurgery, Rheumatology, Urology,
and Rehabilitation medicine
• Referral and epidemiological center for
Baltimore/Washington metropolitan
area
• Well-entrenched government contractor
for overseas social marketing and
epidemiological campaigns
• Very strong as a teaching and research-
oriented hospital
OPPORTUNITIES
1) PACS still relatively scarce but would
advance ideal of completely filmless
data acquisition, sorting, transport,
storage, retrieval and display.
2) Paves the way for more widespread use
of tablet PCs and wireless terminals
3) Optimal compliance with regulatory
and insurer EHR requirements
WEAKNESSES
1) Comparatively mediocre in
Oncology, Cardiology &
Heart Surgery, Diabetes &
Endocrinology,
Nephrology, Gynecology,
Orthopedics and
Pulmonology
2) Relatively poor coverage of
disadvantaged patients.
THREATS
1) Federal regulations of 2011 and
2012 put caps and non-usage
penalties on Medicare and
Medicaid payments
2) Cost-benefit ratio of PACS
remains questionable.