A Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS) is one of the most common information systems used in hospitals. It manages digital images and videos for the hospital or clinic, which are needed because these files have very high resolution and therefore very large file sizes.
To let a clinician review a medical image efficiently - and from multiple locations in the hospital, sometimes also from home when on-call - the PACS must be able to deliver large files quickly, offer tools for viewing and manipulating images, and support reporting. The PACS is electronically linked to the modalities that generate the images (digital radiography, ultrasound, CT, MRI), and to the PAS and any EMR or EHR system in the facility so that patient identifiers, demographics and relevant reports can be displayed alongside images.
PACS systems are complex, but the benefits of digital radiology over physical film usually outweigh the cost and complexity. This has given PACS one of the clearest business cases of any hospital information system, and made it one of the most widely adopted system types in healthcare.
DICOM
Interoperability across imaging modalities and information systems requires an agreed standard supported by all manufacturers. The Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) standard was first published in 1993, has since been very widely adopted, and is now recognised by the International Organization for Standardization as ISO 12052. DICOM is managed by the Medical Imaging and Technology Alliance - a division of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association, which owns the copyright of the DICOM publications.
RIS
PACS is used throughout the hospital, but a separate system - the Radiology Information System (RIS) - supports the radiology department itself, including registering patients, scheduling imaging procedures, producing and distributing reports, and communicating with the PACS and the hospital information system (HIS).
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