SIIM U - Section 6: PACS/RIS Replacement

Friday, May 16, 2008

3:30 pm – 5:00 pm

Ballroom 6C

Section Head:  Richard H. Wiggins, III, MD

Section Description:
The increasing dependence of Radiology departments on technology with Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS) and Radiology Information Systems (RIS) has caused departments to come to terms with the unfortunate potential shelf life of software, such as with operating systems. The software life of a PACS and/or RIS  is probably about 7 years, depending on the system, institution, and the integration of the system in question with other medical systems. This session will focus on                              criteria for deciding on upgrade versus replacement. Strategic alternatives for safe replacement will be presented. Tactical technical issues related to migration of DICOM image data, and PACS and RIS databases will be discussed. The option of replacement with by an integrated RIS/PACS will also be examined. This session will specifically present the important issues to both radiologists and PACS administrators for PACS/RIS migration.

Learning Objectives:
1. Understand the radiologist’s perspective of PACS migration.
2. Recognize important issues to a radiologist about PACS migration.
3. Recognize important issues to a radiologist about RIS migration.

Learning Objectives:
1. Understand the Administrator’s perspective of PACS migration.
2. Recognize important issues to a PACS administrator about PACS migration.
3. Recognize important issues to a RIS administrator about RIS migration.

Learning Objectives:
1. Understand the roles of RIS, PACS and Data Migration teams
2. Recognize issues important to vendor teams.
3. Understand how to plan and manage projects to get what you need from the vendors you select.