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RT, application interoperability, other
communication standards, etc.
General recommendations for RT professionals
to achieve or optimize the interoperability at the RT
departments:
When purchasing a new IS for RT department
request a IS compliant with DICOM-RT with all RT
objects available.
When purchasing new equipment for RT
department only buy a machine in conformance with
DICOM v3.0.
When implementing the new device DICOM
conformant, specification and testing of the clinical
application capabilities and data flow needs to be
performed by the RT facility to ensure effective
integration.
For a good policy in RT department, the strategy
must focus on reliable computer applications with a
high degree of built-in connectivity.
Use the PACS model in the RT department,
whether departmental or institutional, with the
DICOM v3.0 and DICOM-RT.
It is important to adapt the existing RT
workflows to those publicised by
integrating the healthcare enterprise (IHE) (I.H.E.,
2011) integration profiles and technical frameworks
providing a common platform to use DICOM and
HL7.
The implementation of these recommendations will
be essential to optimise the interoperability in the
RT context.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors acknowledge the RT departments that
participated in the study, the contribution provided
by the RT experts (António Gonçalves, Luís Cunha,
Ana Barros) and the help afforded by Jorge Gomes
in the MedQuest utilization.
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