PACS - PICTURE ARCHIVING COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM FROM MANAGED MEDICAL IMAGING
As the medical world moves to Picture Archiving and Communication Systems, PACS,
for filmless imaging, many facilities are wrestling with the issues of working
in a hybrid environment, and then managing costs and compliance once they’re
fully converted to digital.
Managed Medical Imaging (MMI) offers
an affordable PACS system for hospitals, diagnostic centers and other
organizations looking to save money and time through the implementation of PACS
(Picture Archiving Communication System. MMI provides a
cost-effective lifecycle
approach to managing both the transition and the full PACS radiological
environment. By taking advantage of our expertise, facilities can achieve a
film-less environment quickly while controlling costs and ensuring compliance
with HIPAA regulations.
Implementation of a PACS can save incredible amounts of money and space.
Consider:
Film Cost Reduction
Since PACS images are digital, the use and cost of film are eliminated. Some
hospitals report going filmless in less than five months and eliminating all
film in reading rooms. Frisbie Memorial Hospital in New Hampshire went from
spending $19,000 a month to zero on film.
FTE Reduction/Reallocation [full-time equivalents]
You won't need as many full-time employees (or equivalents), since you'll no
longer require technicians for film, proofing and shipping. Frisbie Memorial
Hospital went from 3.5 staff to 1.5.
Space Savings/Reallocation
Some hospitals have eliminated their film rooms entirely and converted them to
much-needed office space.
WHAT IS A PACS?:A Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS)
provides for the viewing, storing and retrieving, communication and managing of
medical digital images and related information. The related information could be
patient demographic information, contain diagnostic reports, or clinical
history. The managing aspect facilitates the workflow of an imaging department
such as organizing studies, presenting them in a consistent manner in the form
of work lists, and keeping track of study status. In order to provide these
features, a PACS system consists typically of an archive device, diagnostic
viewing stations for radiologists and clinical review by physicians, server(s)
to distribute the images via a public network and the required database and
workflow management software. Digital X-ray modalities such as Computerized or
Digital Radiography (CR/DR) are sometimes considered PACS components as well.
PACS COSTS: The price of a modern PACS and its associated
upgrades is as variable as the vendors and institutions that need them. The bare
bones software with a 1 terabyte server might cost as little as a few hundred
thousand dollars, but that does not include archive servers, the service
contract, new workstations, plus migrating all of the old data from the legacy
PACS and a host of other related expenses and options. Although upgrading a PACS
might be the cost of doing business in radiology, certain strategies can help to
decrease those costs.
| David C. Held, radiology service engineer at
University Community Hospital in Tampa, Fla., describes their
savings by implementing a PACS. Thie 431-bed hospital conducts about
120,000 imaging studies per year. Once they deployed PACS in
December 2004, they cut their film printing from 20,000 films per
month to 2,000. |
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