Table 2.

Summary of key recommendations

Recommendations related to body parts terminology
1. Anatomic Region Sequence is the most useful single DICOM data element to drive image consumption across specialties
2. The Anatomic Region Sequence should be populated using a standard body part ontology
3. Providers and industry representatives should work together to identify and select an existing body part ontology that will meet the varied needs of specialists and the general end-users across the enterprise
4. The selected standard body part terminology should be an ontology including anatomic relationships, so that concepts with a higher degree of specificity are relatable to those with a lower degree of specificity

Other recommendations
1. Information encoded in plain text fields, such as Study Description and Series Description, is not standardized and should not be relied upon to drive workflow or system behavior
2. Institutional Department Type Code Sequence should be populated with an appropriate code based on the department or division performing the imaging study
3. Reason For Performed Procedure Code Sequence and Admitting Diagnoses Code Sequence should be populated, if the appropriate information is available. However, it is recognized that this data is unlikely to be updated and thus will become outdated as the knowledge of a patient’s underlying illness grows