Laboratory and imaging
Picture archiving and communication system (PACS)
A picture archiving and communication system (PACS) stores, retrieves and displays medical images such as X ray, CT, MRI and ultrasound in the DICOM standard, and delivers studies and reports to radiologists and clinicians across a hospital or network.
Why it matters
Film is costly, degrades and can be in only one place at a time. A PACS makes images available at the reporting station, on the ward and to a remote radiologist at once. Access to imaging is highly inequitable worldwide, a gap the World Health Assembly addressed in 2025 with resolution WHA78.13 on strengthening medical imaging capacity [1].
Key points
- Images are stored and exchanged in DICOM, the international standard for medical images and related information [2].
- A modality worklist sends scheduled studies to the X ray, CT or ultrasound unit, so patient details are not typed again [3].
- The report, not only the images, must return to the requesting clinician and the patient record.
- Integration with the EHR and with any existing hospital PACS avoids duplicate archives.
In Moana
MOANA PACS provides DICOM storage, a browser viewer, worklists and reporting, and integrates with an existing hospital PACS.
Sources
- Strengthening medical imaging capacity, resolution WHA78.13, World Health Assembly, 2025
- About DICOM: overview, DICOM Standards Committee, NEMA, accessed 2026
- DICOM PS3.4 Service Class Specifications: Basic Worklist Management Service, NEMA, 2026
Read the guide: PACS and Teleradiology for Hospitals Without a Radiologist
In the platform: MOANA PACS
Related terms: Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine, Teleradiology, Laboratory information system
Updated 2026-11-03. Written under Moana’s editorial standards.