Orders & Worklist

The Radiology Orders and Worklist system connects the ordering physician to the radiology department seamlessly. Orders placed from OPD, IPD, or Emergency...

February 2026 · 7 min

Manual area

Radiology

Coverage

6 sections

Operator notes

3 implementation notes

Overview

The Radiology Orders and Worklist system connects the ordering physician to the radiology department seamlessly. Orders placed from OPD, IPD, or Emergency encounters flow directly into the radiology worklist, eliminating paper requisitions and reducing transcription errors.

The worklist serves as the single source of truth for all imaging activity -- from order placement through scheduling, acquisition, reporting, and result delivery. It supports all modalities: X-ray, Ultrasound, CT, MRI, Fluoroscopy, Mammography, Nuclear Medicine, PET-CT, and Interventional Radiology.

Placing Imaging Orders

Doctors order imaging studies from the consultation screen:

Click Order Imaging in the encounter toolbar.
Select modality -- X-ray, Ultrasound, CT, MRI, etc.
Select study -- Choose from the department's study catalog (e.g., X-ray Chest PA, CT Abdomen with contrast, MRI Brain with contrast).
Set priority -- Routine, Urgent, or STAT. STAT orders are flagged with an audible alert in the radiology department.
Clinical indication -- Free text or structured entry. This is mandatory and appears on the radiologist's reporting screen for context.
Relevant history -- Previous imaging, surgical history, lab results that may affect the study.
Contrast requirements -- The system auto-suggests based on the study type. For contrast studies, it checks the patient's renal function (latest creatinine/eGFR) and allergy history.
Scheduling preference -- Immediate (walk-in) or scheduled (select date/time slot from available calendar).
Submit -- The order appears on the radiology worklist instantly.

Order sets (pre-defined groups like 'Trauma Series' = X-ray Chest + X-ray Pelvis + CT Head) allow single-click ordering for common scenarios.

Worklist Management

The Radiology Worklist is the technologist's and radiologist's primary screen:

Columns:

Patient name, UHID, age, gender, ward/bed.
Study type, modality, and laterality.
Priority indicator (color-coded: white/yellow/red).
Status: Ordered > Scheduled > In Progress > Completed > Reported.
Assigned technologist and reporting radiologist.
Time elapsed since order (with TAT threshold warnings).

Actions per study:

Schedule -- Assign to a room, equipment, and time slot.
Check-in -- Mark patient arrival in the department.
Start Acquisition -- Technologist begins the study. Status changes to In Progress.
Complete Acquisition -- Images uploaded (DICOM push from modality or manual upload). Status changes to Completed.
Assign for Reporting -- Auto-assigned to the on-duty radiologist or manually assigned based on subspecialty.

Filters: By modality, status, priority, date range, referring doctor, and assigned radiologist. Each user can save personal filter presets.

Scheduling & Room Management

For scheduled studies (MRI, CT with prep, Fluoroscopy, Interventional):

Room Calendar -- Visual calendar showing booked slots per room/equipment. Drag-and-drop rescheduling.
Slot Duration -- Configurable per study type (e.g., 15 min for X-ray, 30 min for CT, 60 min for MRI).
Preparation Instructions -- When a study is scheduled, the system sends patient preparation instructions via SMS/WhatsApp (fasting requirements, contrast prep, clothing, etc.).
Equipment Maintenance -- Blocked slots for scheduled maintenance are visible on the calendar to prevent overbooking.
Overbooking Alerts -- If a room is overbooked beyond capacity, the system warns the scheduler.

For walk-in studies (most X-rays, urgent CTs), scheduling is bypassed -- the patient goes directly to the available room.

Pre-Study Safety Checks

Before any imaging study, the system enforces safety checklists:

Pregnancy Check -- For female patients of childbearing age, a pregnancy status confirmation is mandatory before any ionizing radiation study.
Contrast Allergy -- If the patient has a documented contrast allergy, the system blocks contrast studies unless pre-medication is ordered and administered.
Renal Function -- For contrast-enhanced CT/MRI, the system checks the latest eGFR. If eGFR < 30, the study is flagged for nephrologist consultation.
MRI Safety Questionnaire -- For MRI, a dedicated safety form checks for implants (pacemakers, cochlear implants, metallic foreign bodies, etc.).
Informed Consent -- For contrast studies and interventional procedures, digital consent capture is mandatory before proceeding.

These checks are logged and become part of the study record for medicolegal documentation.

Reports & TAT Monitoring

Study Volume -- Daily/monthly study counts by modality, referring department, and priority.
TAT Analysis -- Order-to-Report turnaround time tracked at each stage. Identify bottlenecks (long scheduling waits, slow reporting).
Rejection & Repeat Rate -- Studies repeated due to poor image quality, with reason codes and technologist attribution.
Radiation Dose Tracking -- Cumulative dose per patient across all studies (links to Dose Tracking module).
Equipment Utilization -- Percentage of available slots used per room/equipment. Helps justify new equipment procurement or optimize scheduling.
Referral Patterns -- Which departments and doctors order the most studies, useful for capacity planning.

Notes

Tip

Use Order Sets for common clinical scenarios (e.g., 'Acute Abdomen' = X-ray Abdomen erect + Ultrasound Abdomen + CT Abdomen). This saves ordering time and ensures nothing is missed.

Clinic tip

For clinics with a single X-ray machine, scheduling is unnecessary. Enable Walk-in Mode to skip scheduling and go directly from order to acquisition.

Warning

Never skip the MRI safety questionnaire. Ferromagnetic implants in the MRI suite can cause fatal projectile injuries.