Achieving the promise of PACS today

Picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) were introduced in the 1980s as the ultimate solution for managing radiological films, but technical limitations and high costs prevented all but a few well-funded institutions from experimenting with PACS. Today, technology is catching up with the early vision of PACS. Partial-PACS solutions can be applied to specific departmental needs and be part of a planned migration toward filmless radiology. The most prevalent PACS solutions today are teleradiology reading stations that enable a department to deliver images over the telephone lines to on-call radiologists' homes, but other applications are growing rapidly. Benefits include more timely patient treatment, increased productivity, elimination of lost films and reduced costs in labor, film and supplies. Each facility must carefully weigh the objectives for a PACS solution and perform a careful cost/benefit analysis before acquiring a system.