Abstract
Toward the end of 1997 vendors were succeeding in installing picture, archiving and communication systems (PACS) in larger numbers. It was hard to separate fact from fiction at times. This survey was undertaken by 2 members of the academic community to confirm what was operational, how well the installed systems worked, and what they were doing. Fax questionnaires were sent to nearly 1,000 facilities worldwide to identify PACS of any size in clinical operation on a date certain, February 1, 1998. A total of 177 PACS were identified. Facilities furnished responses during the first survey period from May 1 to November 1, 1998. A second survey, done in February and March of 2000, sought long-term follow-up data. Many systems operated 5 or more types of modalities. Computed tomography (CT) was the most common modality type at 83%, but the distribution of the rest held surprises. There also was an unexpectedly large use of soft copy reading and filmless operation in 1998. Clear trends toward increased use of computed radiography and digital radiography and a significant expansion on the percentage of all of a facility’s examinations on the PACS were seen over the 2 years. Satisfaction with original PACS vendors was relatively high. Eighty-nine percent remained with their original vendor. Only 10 sites reported they changed vendors, and 4 facilities said they abandoned their system. The users reported their expectations of the PACS had been met in 81% of cases. Some (65%) declared their systems were cost effective. The most striking response was that 97% of the users would recommend PACS to others.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bauman RA: Worldwide experience with large PACS systems, in Proceedings of the S/CAR94 Computer Applications to Assist Radiology Conference. Winston-Salem, NC, Symposia Foundation, Carlsbad, CA, 1994
Bauman RA, Gell G, Dwyer SJ III: Large picture archiving and communication systems of the world—Part 1. J Digit Imaging 9:99–103, 1996
Bauman RA, Gell G, Dwyer SJ III: Large picture archiving and communication systems of the world—Part 2. J Digit Imaging 9:172–177, 1996
Siegel E, Reiner B, Abiri M, et al: The filmless radiology reading room: A survey of established picture archiving and communication system sites. J Digit Imaging 13:22–23, 2000 (2 Suppl 1)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bauman, R.A., Gell, G. The reality of picture archiving and communication systems (PACS): A survey. J Digit Imaging 13, 157–169 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03168390
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03168390