Integrating a PACS Network to a Statewide Telemedicine System: A Case Study of the Santa Catarina State Integrated Telemedicine and Telehealth System

In the literature, PACS and Telemedicine are located in different or complementary works. However, when integrated as part of the same solution, both contribute to the healthcare process as a whole. This work describes the experience on integrating a PACS infrastructure to a statewide telemedicine system, allowing to the latter to benefit from concepts defined by the former in terms of acquisition, transmission and storage of digital images. The obtained results attest the viability of such approach, allowing the construction of a robust, scalable, and secure solution attending scheduled procedures, image acquisition, content transmission, content storage, content evaluation, and the return of examination reports.