Which activity would you expect to find in a PACS CQI program?

• A. Documentation of nondiagnostic images
• B. Manual data entry for every study
• C. Deleting old studies to save space
• D. Ignore hardware failures

Answer: (A)

Continuous quality improvement in a PACS relies on collecting data about imaging outcomes so patterns of performance and problems can be identified and addressed. Documenting nondiagnostic images is exactly the kind of data you need because it flags when an image cannot provide a usable diagnosis. Recording these cases lets the team analyze causes—such as technique, protocol gaps, patient motion, exposure issues, or equipment problems—and drive targeted fixes like retraining, protocol tweaks, or hardware maintenance. Tracking nondiagnostic studies over time also helps measure whether improvements are actually reducing the frequency of nondiagnostic results, which supports safer patient care.

Other options don’t fit because they either add unnecessary workload without yielding actionable insight (manual data entry for every study), erase valuable information (deleting old studies prevents trend analysis), or ignore problems that CQI is designed to surface and fix (hardware failures).