Integrating PACS and HIS in a nuclear cardiology department

Image storage and retrieval make medical image departments unique in terms of information systems. The PACS concept was developed as a solution for integrating medical image systems. On the other hand, hospital information systems (HIS) were oriented towards text-based data. Today many hospitals suffer from the lack of integration between both systems. In the authors´ institution this question was addressed a few years ago and the authors have decided to develop a fresh HIS with PACS embedded capabilities. To approach this problem, a small-scale prototype is under implementation at InCor´s Nuclear Cardiology Department. Here, the authors highlight the importance of using open systems and conceptual modeling to make PACS and HIS integration not only feasible but also rewarding