Collaborative Picture Archiving &
Communication System (PACS)
Project
SISU Medical Systems
July 17, 2006
“I have traveled the length and breadth of
this country and talked with the best people,
and I can assure you that data processing is
a fad that won't last out the year.”
The editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall, 1957
Acronyms & Definitions
PACS – Picture Archiving Communication System.
Defined as a system that enables the capturing,
storage and retrieval of digital images.
SAN – Storage Area Network. Defined as a highspeed sub-network of shared storage devices.
HCIS – Health Care Information System.
RIS – Radiology Information System
Overview of SISU




Non-profit information technology
consortium for hospitals & clinics.
Currently 14 members throughout
Minnesota.
Shared technology and I.T. staff.
SISU is NOT a vendor!
Typical Rural Radiology Environment
The patient’s perspective:

May have to wait for a radiologist
consult while image is couriered to
the radiologist.

In general, is at the mercy of delays
related to the physical media being
shuttled between multiple locations.

Patient may be transferred as an
end result.
Typical Rural Radiology Environment
From the radiologist’s perspective:

Delay in reading films in emergency
situations.

Difficulty in meeting customer
expectations.
Typical Rural Radiology Environment
From the hospital / clinic perspective:

Stuck in the middle between the patient
and the radiologist.

Images not always where they are
needed, when they are needed resulting
in inefficiencies.

Costs associated with film, storage,
courier services, etc.
Every healthcare organization could
build its own PACS solution, but…
…they would miss the opportunity to share the risks
and costs associated with maintaining common
elements of a PACS environment.
…they would need to build their own methodology for
connecting the radiologist to their site.
…the radiologist would likely have multiple means of
accessing multiple locations and need to learn
multiple PACS environments.
…the radiologists would likely miss the opportunity to
share resources such as on-call duty with other
radiologists.
“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every
opportunity; an optimist sees the
opportunity in every difficulty.”
Sir Winston Churchill
Network
Configuration
Modalities
Medical Facility
Diagnostic
Workstations
Clinical
Workstations
HCIS / RIS
Image Cache /
DICOM Broker /
Web Access
Radiologist Office
Radiologist Home
S A N
Centralized
Archive System
VPN
Internet
VPN
Shared PACS Network - Current Status



Seven hospitals have already purchased jointly from our
selected vendor: Grand Rapids, Crosby, Aitkin, Ely,
Bigfork, Deer River, Detroit Lakes.
Five hospitals are in the process of installing computed
radiography in preparation for PACS. This project was
assisted by a joint state grant. These hospitals include
Grand Marais, Cook, Cloquet, Moose Lake, and Mora.
Integrating our healthcare information system with the
PACS for five of our facilities. This interface will:




Pass ADT information to the PACS.
Pass radiology order information to and from the PACS.
Allow the users to call up an image from within our enterprise
medical record system.
Pass transcription to the PACS.
Shared PACS Network – The Future



Four additional hospitals are evaluating
and preparing to purchase PACS
technology - Cook, Cloquet, Mora,
Hastings, Hutchinson and Moose Lake.
Likely begin the integration between our
healthcare information system and the
PACS for the remainder of the hospitals.
Continue enabling access to HCIS / PACS
environment by remote radiologists &
physicians.
Advantages of Working Collaboratively







Negotiated pricing with our PACS vendor.
Shared hardware costs.
Reduced maintenance costs.
Reduced interface costs through standardization.
Data resides in at least two locations at all times
allowing member sites to go film-less.
Reduced pricing on computed radiography (CR).
Ability to contract jointly for radiology services.
Examples of Shared Expenses

Centralized Long-term Archive:








Hardware
Licensing
Maintenance
Potential savings in “like” modality interfaces.
Savings in “like” HCIS vendor interfaces.
Shared information technology staffing for
archive and network maintenance.
Shared internet / VPN access expenses.
Reduced on-going training expenses through
shared vendor training sessions and sharing of
expertise with other members.
Current PACS
Configuration
Modalities
Medical Facility
Diagnostic
Workstations
Clinical
Workstations
HCIS / RIS
S A N
Centralized
Archive System
Less Resilient
Lower Cost
Image Cache Server
DICOM Broker
Web Access Server
Highly Resilient
Higher Cost
Even Lower Cost
Configuration
Modalities
Medical Facility
Diagnostic
Workstations
Clinical
Workstations
HCIS / RIS
S A N
Centralized
Archive System
Less Resilient
Lower Cost
Image Cache Server
DICOM Broker
Web Access Server
Highly Resilient
Higher Cost
Thank You!
Sisu Medical Systems / Solutions
5 W 1st St, Suite 200
Duluth, MN 55802
(218) 529-7900
(218) 529-7920 / Fax
www.SisuNet.org