Diagnostic Imaging Picture Archiving and Communication System (DI/PACS)
The images that radiologists review from exams such as X-rays, CT scans, and ultrasound sonograms, referred to as diagnostic images, have been until recently printed and reviewed on film for diagnosis.
With the implementation of a new NWT-wide Picture Archive and Communication System and digital imaging equipment, NWT health professionals will no longer have to rely on film to view images. Instead, they will be using the DI/PACS to store, distribute, review, and communicate all your diagnostic images. They are captured digitally during your exam, without the need to print film.
Key benefits of DI/PACS for you include:
- Your health professional can:
- Provide faster diagnosis and decisions relating to your treatment
- Consult in real time with specialists from different locations over your images
- Enlarge and focus on specific portions of your image
- See your images in higher detail than film
Overall DI/PACS will benefit our system by:
- Improving service delivery
- Reducing costs by no longer having to print, store, and mail film
- Reducing the number of lost and misplaced images resulting in unnecessary exams
By 2011 DI/PACS will be available to all NWT health centres that provide Diagnostic Imaging services.