Transferring medical data between facilities has historically been tedious. While communication technology in other industries has rapidly evolved in the past couple of decades, the sensitivity of health records has left the medical industry lagging.

However, the emergence of PACS has kicked off a much-needed evolution in the storage and transfer of medical imaging and reports, specifically in radiology.

This article will discuss the key benefits of implementing PACS in radiology tech practices. Before diving into this technology’s many benefits, we’ll start by discussing what PACS is and how it’s the future of healthcare.

What is PACS?

PACS stands for “picture archiving and communications system.” It stores and shares medical imaging results, including the images and the reports attached.

This technology operates using a mix of state-of-the-art hardware and software. It requires machinery capable of digital imaging rather than more traditional means, like capturing images on film.

what is PACS?Pexel

PACS is particularly valuable in radiology.

Why?

X-rays, magnetic resonance imaging (MRIs), computed tomography (CT) scans, and results from similar imaging modalities have traditionally been troublesome to transfer from the imaging center to healthcare professionals in other offices.

Previously, this required physically transporting a CD with the medical records from point A to point B, which was often inconvenient and time-consuming. PACS turns this process on its head, genuinely revolutionizing healthcare.

8 Benefits of PACS in Radiology

Now that you’re more familiar with PACS and its connection to radiology let’s explore some of its benefits in this field.

1. It eliminates the need for storing hard copies

Storing physical copies of medical images and reports takes up a lot of space in doctors’ offices and imaging centers.

Benefits of PACS in RadiologyPexel

By migrating to a PACS, you can operate effectively in a much smaller space, opening up your office space or allowing you to downsize.

Extra office space allows for expansion, and downsizing will enable you to cut real estate costs. Both options are great since they open the doors for radiology businesses.

2. It’s cost-effective

In addition to saving more on physical storage space, PACS reduces many other costs associated with storing and transporting medical images and reports.

For starters, cloud-based data storage doesn’t require film or CDs, so you save on the costs of those materials. You also save on transporting those materials between offices since they can be sent digitally.

Medical imaging is often costly, even for people with health insurance. So, hopefully, as the industry shifts toward PACS, the cost-effectiveness of the technology will be reflected in the expenses patients bear.

3. It’s easier to transfer information

Another major perk of using PACS in a radiology center is that it is easy to transfer information between radiologists and the doctors who have requested the imaging. This is very important since many doctors outsource imaging to a particular center. They analyze the images in-house, but they don’t have the technology to capture them.

PACS make it easy to transfer information between radiologists and the doctorsPexels

Additionally, implementing PACS helps travel radiology technicians share images between different facilities. This means that if a doctor no longer works with a specific center but needs to acquire an image for a patient, it can be sent to them without a problem.

4. It’s convenient

The easy access to images with a PACS system makes it much more convenient for all parties involved. Past systems required burdensome steps to access reports, but PACS makes it all more seamless.

This convenient access is valuable to patients who want to take their images for a second opinion or need to transfer them from one healthcare facility to another.

5. It’s secure

Security is always a concern regarding the storage and transfer of medical information. One benefit of PACS is that even though it’s geared toward making information accessible, security is a significant priority.

With the advent of cloud-based PACS, protecting cloud workloads has taken a significant leap forward. Cloud storage offers robust protection mechanisms, such as encryption and secure access controls, ensuring that patient images and information are safeguarded against unauthorized access and cyber threats.

This builds patient trust and complies with strict regulatory standards for data protection.

6. It facilitates interdisciplinary collaboration

Another key advantage of implementing PACS is facilitating interdisciplinary collaboration, crucial in comprehensive patient care.

For instance, when managing chronic conditions like Type 2 diabetes, healthcare providers often need to consider various treatment options, including alternatives to Ozempic. With PACS, radiologists can easily share pertinent imaging data with the broader healthcare team, including those managing the patient’s diabetes medication.

This seamless exchange of information allows for a more holistic view of the patient’s health, enabling the team to make informed decisions about treatment plans. Thus, PACS enhances radiology departments’ efficiency and improves patient outcomes by fostering collaborative care.

7. Data management becomes easier

When files are stored digitally, it’s much easier to quickly browse them to find the report or image you’re looking for.

It saves radiology techs and admins from flipping through file after file to find exactly what they are looking for. Plus, when data is stored digitally, there are typically various ways to sort and filter results, making things more accessible across the board.

8. It’s scalable

The culmination of the many PACS benefits we’ve covered so far leads to another significant advantage: it’s scalable! Cost-effectiveness, need for less space, convenience, and so forth make PACS a scalable and sustainable solution for radiology.

PACS is a scalable and sustainable solution for radiology.Pexel

It enables radiology centers to scale their operations since space becomes less of an issue. It also improves their profitability since storing and transferring records with PACS is greater.

Streamlining the transfer of these records also enables radiology centers to work more effectively with more doctors’ offices, creating possibilities for new partnerships.

Final thoughts

PACS and similar technologies are revolutionizing the medical space. Even something as simple as digitalizing storage and sharing images is helping the industry progress beyond its antiquated record-keeping practices.

How could technology like PACS improve your radiology facility?