Glossary

Cloud PACS (Picture Archiving Communication System)

What is a cloud PACS?  

In healthcare, a cloud-based picture archiving and communication system (Cloud PACS) is technological system in which medical imagery is stored, retrieved and transmitted digitally via cloud storage environments. For medical professionals, PACS systems provide economical storage and convenient/instantaneous access to patient medical imaging data such as X-rays, CT scans, MRIs, ultrasounds and more.   

Importance of Cloud PACS in modern healthcare 

A PACS system acts as a centralized repository for sharing medical imaging data, allowing medical professionals to readily access and view patient scans from connected workstations and mobile devices. This can greatly increase efficiencies as cloud-based PACS systems eliminate the need for physical file storage and manual transportation of film.  

Because cloud PACS are housed in the cloud, the system enables remote viewing of medical imagery for multiple healthcare providers, allowing medical professionals to instantly retrieve secure medical documents and imagery for immediate use in providing care or patient consultation.  

PACS systems integrate with modern healthcare tools, such as DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine), and DICOM is how PACS can interface with other systems, including Radiology Information Systems (RIS) and Hospital Information Systems (HIS). 

Benefits of cloud PACS for medical professionals  

Cloud PACS systems help to solve a significant challenge for radiology professionals: the timely management and instant accessibility of medical imaging information. Some of the many benefits of PACS to medical professionals include:  

  • Saves time 

  • Increases availability of medical imaging information 

  • Easier to use and provides additional scalability associated with cloud storage 

  • Alleviates under or over-exposure scanning issues by allowing for enhanced image manipulation 

Benefits of cloud PACS for patients  

Patients who receive treatment and care from clinicians who leverage cloud PACS can benefit from it in the following ways:  

  • Eliminates the need for redundant scans, reducing exposure to radiation. 

  • Significantly reduces wait times for diagnostic reading, especially when shared between multiple physicians and/or numerous departments.  

  • PACS software can visually enhance 2D and 3D imagery, which can lead to better diagnostic care.  

Types of PACS 

Cloud PACS are a type of PACS where the cloud serves as the primary storage environment. On-site PACS reside on-premises, using existing software, IT infrastructure and on-premises storage environments to function. On-site PACS systems are more susceptible to siloing data and aren’t known to be as scalable as a cloud-based system. With on-site PACS, adding staff, technical support and storage expansion can be expensive. An on-site PACS can also limit the ability to share data outside of the local environment due to security and privacy protocols, which means that sharing data with another healthcare organization requires additional steps, and often, higher costs for data migrations.  

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