A personal-computer reporting system for mammography.

A reporting system for mammography that uses a personal computer (IBM AT or compatible) and keyboard input of data was evaluated. The system's functions are described and compared with a standard dictation/transcription system. Approximately 500,000 bytes of disk storage are needed for the mammography program, which produces letters for physicians and patients, copies for the file room, and confirmation forms and accumulates data for future scientific analysis. Use of the computerized system resulted in a 6% increase in productivity for the radiologist, decreased the typist's keystrokes to 7.7-8.5% of those needed in dictation/transcription systems, and produced a 69% savings of time for the typist. The study shows that a personal computer and the software program described can be used effectively for reporting mammography results in situations in which a computerized reporting system previously was not economically viable.