On March 14th the Radiology Department at the Monroe County Hospital & Clinics will begin the installation of their Picture Archiving and Communication System or PACS. The PACS is an efficient system which was developed to provide economical storage and rapid retrieval of images with access to multiple exams and modalities. PACS will begin the venture to electronic medical records for MCHC. The radiology department will no longer be printing hard copy film of their exams. All exams will be stored in the PACS; locally, we will be able to store 2-3 years worth of exams. Our long-term storage of exams will be done through Mercy Des Moines.
PACS has been in the MCHC capital budget for a few years. As a request by Dr. Homedan, orthopedic surgeon, to be able to review images outside of MCHC, the Board approved the purchase with the Gibb Estate Funds. Dr. Homedan will be able to view images of possible surgical candidates as soon as the images are taken. The referring providers at the clinic and in the emergency department will also have access to view their patients’ images before the patient returns to their office. The system will provide efficient processes and quality images for our patients, technologists, and physicians.
PACS is expected to be fully operational by March 29th. For more information or to get a glimpse of the new system, please contact the Radiology Department at (641) 932-1721.