A Picture Archive and Communication System for Radiologists, or RIS PACS is a vitally necessary tool for every oncology department today - and with the dramatic fall in the cost of computer hardware, there is no reason why every health care facility should not have one. Such PACS systems are based on the same personal computer technology with which you are already familiar - so there is no steep learning curve. If you are among the few who are not familiar with this remarkable technology, or are a physician in private practice or the administrator of a small hospital who has been reluctant to invest in a RIS PACS because of cost, read on.

The one of the first PACS systems in the U.S. was the RIS PACS at the Ohio State University Medical Center Radiology Department back in 1991. Within a decade, the use of these workstations had eliminated the need for the use of expensive film and toxic developer chemicals in cumbersome labs. By 2001, the OSU Medical Center was realizing cost savings of over a million dollars a year through the employment of its RIS PACS. It was more than dollars that the Center has saved; PACS systems have also saved nearly 7,000 physician work-hours per year. Using PACS workstations, physicians were able to reduce the time between initial patient visit and case dictation to under three hours.

Back when the OSUMC installed its RIS PACS, this new technology cost several million dollars. However, the same trends that have forced down the cost of computer technology in general has also affected the cost of these systems; it is possible to outfit a small clinic with a RIS PACS, including workstations, for as little as $5000.