What Is PACS?

Before PACS: Conventional x-ray films
had to be kept in huge storage rooms

Film stores and racks of films are
now only a receding memory.....

What is PACS? 
PACS is an acronym that stands for Picture Archiving and Communication System:
Picture- referring to radiographic images and radiology reports.
Archiving - referring to the film file or film rack component of storing images.
Communications - referencing multiple viewers of images and reports at virtually unlimited viewing sites called workstations.
System - fostering the concept that a complex coordinated network makes it all possible. 

PACS system must be monitored and responsibility for it functioning properly managed by a specialized team. All functions of the PACS system and network are managed by a PACS administrator. They also maintain the network and correct information and transfer errors as they occur, such as the wrong patient name entered on a study. The PACS administrator is considered a specialized modality which is gaining in its own right to specialty recognition. 

There are seven basic functions carried out by a PACS system and network:
1) Image Capture
2) Image Transfer
3) Short Term Storage
4) Long Term Storage
5) Retrieval
6) Image viewing
7) Networking

So why do we need PACS:

• PACS is hardware and software that stores and manipulates digital information in the form of images and text data. 
• PACS provides a contemporary radiology department with optimal storage of images and patient data files. 
• PACS is also a digital centralized electronic storage system that provides easy access to images transmittable to any workstation on its network. 
• Through PACS radiographic images can be viewed from any workstation within its network.
• Because the image is an electronic data set, each can be stored into memory. Memory is the key concept in archiving, which takes up less space than a counterpart x-ray film rack. 

Some benefits of PACS: 

• Reduction of lost films. 
• Reduced retakes due to poor image quality, significant reduction in storage space and film printing cost. 
• Greatly improved communications, productivity and efficiency between the radiology department and physicians greatly improves because images and reports are readily available to remote sites, clinics, and hospital wards immediately after acquisition.
• Through computer technology unlimited viewers can review and manipulate PACS images without degradation of the image, or permanent changes to the image data. Digital data can be communicated to any computer or workstation within its network.
• The storage of radiographic images, patient information, and radiographic reports into memory greatly diminishes the need for large film storage areas. Film stores and racks of films are now only a receding memory.
• Patient information and radiology reports can be displayed with radiology images eliminating the need to store paper information as well.  

Before PACS was introduced:
Professor Jayakumar (HOD of Radiologi 1983-1987)
requires films to be hung or stacked for him to read.

Related link: 

https://juruteknikperubatan.blogspot.com/2012/07/husm-ahead-of-wave-in-centricity-pacs.html