subject: Scaleable PACS Are Designed To Meet The Digital Imaging Needs of Hospitals, Imaging Centers and Clinics [print this page] Scaleable PACS Are Designed To Meet The Digital Imaging Needs of Hospitals, Imaging Centers and Clinics
Hospitals, imaging centers and clinics come in a range of different sizes, but they have one need in common: the need for a cost-effective means of storing, viewing and distributing the digital images taken in radiology rooms as well as via mobile digital imaging systems. Although PACS systems were once so costly that only the largest hospitals could afford them, all of that has changed with advances in personal computer and software technologies. You can now find scaleable PACS and mini pacs systems designed to meet the needs of small- and mid-sized medical facilities, and at prices that are affordable for smaller medical clinics.
A mini-pacs does the majority of what a full PACS suite does, but it is scaled and priced to better meet the needs of imaging centers and medical clinics that do not require the throughput values that large hospitals do. A scaleable PACS will allow your medical facility to view digital medical images on a clinical workstation with a diagnostic monitor, as well as send and receive the digital medical studies online via networks; it can also store the images in a digital format.
Digital image viewing with a mini pacs in place makes achieving high-resolution studies much easier. The mini pacs allows you to pan, zoom and rotate images, view multiple images simultaneously, adjust the brightness, contrast and more. These changes were not possible with film images, but this has changed with the advent of digital images and mini-pacs systems.
Once the digital images have been used for diagnostic purposes, they must be stored properly. With a PACS in place, instantaneous retrieval is available, and users can query the database of images via the personal computer used in conjunction with the appliance. Studies may be stored on CD or DVD, or they may be sent to a server for storage. Server storage allows multiple physicians on every patient's team of doctors to retrieve and view the same studies simultaneously if they wish, which greatly enhances the workflow of the medical clinic. Server storage may be done both on-and off-site, which then also provides for efficient disaster recovery, and helps to keep your medical facility within HIPPA compliance.
A mini-pacs also enables speed-enhanced distribution of digital medical studies. This may occur via a secure local area network, wide area network, or through a virtual private network. This allows referring and consulting physicians to efficiently work in the cyber environment, all the while providing better care for patients.
