PACS
Picture archiving and communication system (PACS) solutions create an improved working environment for the radiographer, radiologist, referring doctor as well as enhancing patient care.
PACS systems are computers or servers dedicated to the storage, retrieval, distribution and presentation of images.
The medical images are stored in an independent format. The most common format for image storage is DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine).
PACS software offers Radiologists and Radiographers the most advanced truly web-based architecture available.
PACS Solutions are the core of a smooth running radiology workflow and improves the speed and reliability of image communication within the radiology practice.
Like radiology practices, not all PACS are the same. Most of the core features provided the same functionality to the end-user but there are occasions where unique and uncommon features can add valuable advantages to workflow, efficiency, and patient care for certain practices.
For this reason, VIH has partnered with two international PACS vendors, thereby ensuring that we can provide the right solution to suit any customer.
Whether you are a small practice requiring only basic functionality or a large practice with specialised modalities and spanning multiple geographic locations, if you want your PACS to be housed on-site at your premises, off-site in the cloud, or a combination of both we have a solution that will meet your wants and needs.
Some of the key features that we can provide for our customers are Cloud PACS, artificial intelligence, reporting over low network bandwidth, mobile image review, patient portal, teleradiology, advanced 3D, image lifecycle maintenance through leveraging off of storage tiers and compression rules, centralised solution, tag morphing, image routing, VNA, XDS, HL7 communications, and more.
PACS
INTEGRATION WITH RIS
When PACS is integrated into the RIS it becomes driven by the RIS workflow, meaning that all radiology functionality is delivered to the various end-users in a single user interface.
There is no longer the need to alternate between systems to manage a patient examination, from scheduling through to the final radiologist sign-off and billing.
When an examination request is captured into the RIS, the patient information is automatically available at the modality, via the DICOM worklist module. There is therefore less risk of inaccurate data being entered during each examination and significantly reduces the time that a PACS administrator may need to spend correcting mistakes.
Billing accuracy is also improved, efficiency is enhanced, and historical study information is available with future examinations.
ProMed assures that patient information is accurately matched with imaging data:
The PACS can automatically present relevant prior examinations for that patient with the current study.
When this information is at a radiologist’s fingertips, findings can be determined more quickly and results can be delivered to the referring physician sooner.
Information richness is improved because radiologists have both clinical data and imaging data as they report a case.
PACS - REPORTING
An integral part of the PACS workflow solution is the success of the reporting facilities.
The radiologist worklist to display the patients that have been examined and are waiting to be reported. All documents and information required to produce an accurate and timely diagnosis for the patient are available in the RIS patient record.
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State-of-the art voice recognition reporting software integrated into the workflow allows radiologists to report real-time as the images and patient information are available simultaneously at the reporting workstations, where the radiologist merely dictates his report which is interpreted and transcribed by the system.
The radiologist can dictate, edit and authorise the report or send the dictation through to the typist for correction
PACS - DISTRIBUTION
Images are available to the referring physician immediately.
The report is available once the radiologist has verified the report – a visual display on the study list indicates that the report is available for viewing.
Prism also delivers reports directly to referring doctors on authorizationof the completes report. Any addendums to reports also automatically update the PACS system and are emailed to referrers
PACS AS A SERVICE
Like most IT solutions used at the core of many businesses, the software is only a small part of what is required to make the solution work.
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Hardware is often involved and with PACS it is commonly a lot of it. Regardless of the size of the practice the capital outlay on hardware and software for a PACS solution can be quite substantial. This cost grows even more when one introduces concepts such as backups and lengthy image retention.
Four to five years after the initial capital outlay it is time again so start thinking of replacing ones hardware due to failing devices, part scarcity, and systems being out-of-date or no longer supported. Historically this has been a never ending cycle...until now.
We have implemented a solution* that empowers practices to focus more on what they do best, produce radiological reports for their customers, without having to be concerned with a continuous cycle of hardware and software capital expenditure and maintenance. PACS-as-a-Service is this solution. We ensure that the necessary hardware, software, backups, and storage are in place and maintained for you and all that is required is a monthly maintenance expense.​
Our solution allows for direct viewing of studies straight from the cloud for radiologists, other practice staff, and customers. Your customers will be able to view studies on any widely used device, regardless of operating system or type, through the HTML5 (zero-footprint) interface via the cloud. Included in this solution are all the same PACS features as you would expect in an on-premise system with the added benefit of not having to purchase or maintain hardware, not having to maintain server operating systems and software versions, and not having to worry about backups or uptime. All this and more is taken care of by us so that you can then place time, effort, and capital into your core areas of business instead of PACS hardware and maintenance.
