| Making the switch from film images to digital | | | | systems. |
| medical images is a great way to improve the | | | | Radiology PACS also help you stay in compliance |
| workflow and efficiency of your medical office. | | | | of HIPPA regulations for the storage of patient |
| You can save a great deal of time and therefore | | | | records and medical images much more easily |
| money by making the switch to digital imaging. | | | | than in the past, when up to seven years of |
| Radiology PACS help you accomplish this. | | | | hard-copy records had to be stored and backed |
| Radiology PACS are Picture Archiving and | | | | up. Digital images can be backed up onto CDs |
| Communication Systems that allow you to | | | | and DVDs as well as offsite archiving on hard |
| produce, view, archive and transmit digital | | | | drives and in databases by using radiology pacs |
| images. Digital radiology systems utilize both | | | | systems. |
| specialized software and hardware, yet many of | | | | Radiology pacs systems also allow you to take |
| the systems can be run on personal computers | | | | advantage of teleradiology, where digitized medical |
| and networks with which you likely are already | | | | images and records can be sent to authorized |
| familiar. | | | | personnel via the Internet. Radiology PACS |
| Like all digital products, the cost of radiology pacs | | | | enables physicians anywhere with Internet service |
| systems has dropped over the past several | | | | to access medical digital images, thus enabling |
| years. This means that Radiology PACS are | | | | real-time collaboration with physicians down the |
| now within the reach of small to medium-sized | | | | hall or around the world. In this way, radiology |
| medical offices and facilities. | | | | PACS benefits patients, by giving them better |
| Storage of your digital medical images will also | | | | care at a fraction of the traditional cost. |
| save your medical facility money. In the past, | | | | Another advantage that comes from using digital |
| prints had to be made, which were then stored in | | | | radiology systems is that it utilizes the same |
| file folders in large storerooms. It was also a big | | | | computer technology with which you and your |
| task to retrieve film images, because you had to | | | | office staff are already familiar. Computers are |
| wade through all of the files to find the ones you | | | | turned into workstations with radiology systems |
| needed. This is a thing of the past with digital | | | | software. Peripherals such as scanners and |
| radiology systems. With a couple of mouse | | | | printers are used in conjunction with radiology |
| clicks, you can sort through thousands of digital | | | | pacs systems to allow you to scan hard copy |
| images files to find the one you want in a matter | | | | documents and turn them into digital images, or |
| of seconds. Costs typically associated with | | | | to print out digital images. |
| storage, including storage space, paper, files, as | | | | All this efficiency is possible through the use of |
| well as chemicals used to print film images, are | | | | PACS and digital medical imagery. |
| completely eliminated with digital radiology | | | | |