PACS: buying guides & advice

How to Choose a PACS

A Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) is a clinical software platform that acquires, stores, retrieves, distributes, and displays digital medical images (DICOM-format) from modalities including CT, MRI, X-ray, ultrasound, and mammography. Primary buyers are hospital radiology and cardiology departments, multi-site health systems, independent imaging centers, ASCs, and specialty clinics (ophthalmology, oncology, orthopedics) that need filmless, multi-user access to diagnostic images. Procurement is typically triggered by a legacy system end-of-life, a digital imaging buildout, a new facility opening, or a transition from on-premise to cloud/hybrid architecture.