Method for pre-fetching digital image data

A method of more than one operator each operating a diagnostic work station to report a plurality patient studies, each patient study associated with one or more images stored in an image archive, the method including the following steps:

• (a) each diagnostic work station operator selecting a work list, the work list including a plurality of patient studies pending review by the operator;
• (b) establishing a communication link between the diagnostic work station and the image archive storing the one or more images;
• (c) downloading the one or more images associated with each patient study on the selected work list from the image archive to the diagnostic work station;
• (d) displaying the one or more images associated with each patient study to the operator;
• (e) the operator reviewing the images and generating a report on each patient study on the selected work list;
• and
• (f) locking each patient study once this patient study has been selected for a related report to be generated by an operator to prevent the operators of other diagnostic work stations connected to the same image archive from generating reports relating to the same patient study.

A method of reporting a plurality of patient studies, each patient study associated with one or more images, each image being stored in one of a plurality of image archives, the method including the following steps:

• (a) generating a work list, the work list including a plurality of patient studies pending review by the operator of a diagnostic work station;
• (b) establishing communication links between the diagnostic work station and each of the plurality of image archives;
• (c) downloading the one or more images associated with each patient study on the work list from each of the plurality of image archives to the diagnostic work station;
• and
• (d) displaying the one or more images associated with each patient study to the operator.

A method of reporting a plurality of patient studies, each patient study associated with one or more images, each image being stored in one of a plurality of image archives, the method including the following steps:

• (a) generating a plurality of work lists, each work list including a plurality of patient studies associated with images stored in one of the plurality of image archives;
• (b) an operator of the diagnostic workstation selecting one of the plurality of work lists including a plurality of patient studies pending review by the operator;
• (c) establishing a communication link between the diagnostic work station and the image archive storing the images associated with the patient studies on the selected work list;
• (d) downloading the one or more images associated with each patient study on the work list to the diagnostic work station;
• and
• (e) displaying the one or more images associated with each patient study to the operator.