PACS cost justification: an industry perspective

Picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) are seen as an expensive application of computer technology in diagnostic medicine. They are, admittedly, an important expansion of medical informatics into the management of images, but the cost of such systems is not easily justified. Analysis of published data shows that high technology equipment has not significantly contributed to the alarming increase in health care cost in the United States. Furthermore, within the new reimbursement scheme for Medicare procedures radiology costs amount only to less than 5%. The paper gives an analysis of where high cost in PACS is concentrated and suggests ways of justifying the expense of a PAC system.