title: Digital dental radiography needs assessment utilizing the Delphi process.
abstract: This article reports the results of a needs assessment using the Delphi process. The purpose of this study was to determine the architecture and equipment (radiographic and computer network) for establishing and supporting an enterprise's vast digital dental radiographic program. Two panels of subject matter experts identified the needs for a digital dental radiography system; one expert panel consisted of dentists while the other panel's members were information management/information technology (IM/IT) experts. Panelists rated digital dental radiography needs using descriptive statistics and a 7-point bipolar scale. Among dentists, the four most important needs were the capability to store images, image appearance, centralized image storage, and a dedicated back-up server; among IM/IT panelists, they were ensuring HIPAA compliance, use of a standard formatting procedure, excellent print quality, and use of encryption for data transmission. This study's findings are useful for any organization seeking to initiate or improve its own digital radiography program.
authors.affiliation: US Army Dental Command, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Larry G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Rothfuss
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chaffin
authors.forename: W John
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Luciano
authors.forename: Kenn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Finstuen
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mangelsdorff
mesh_terms: D003195:Computer Communication Networks; D016494:Computer Security; D003199:Computer Systems; D003697:Delphi Technique; D020408:Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D016247:Information Storage and Retrieval; D020380:Needs Assessment; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement; D019252:Radiography, Dental, Digital / Q000295:instrumentation; D011873:Radiology Information Systems; D014481:United States