Financial Assessment of a Picture Archiving and Communication System Implemented All at Once

Overview

Journal J Digit Imaging

Publisher Springer

Specialties Medical Informatics
Radiology

Date 2006 Jun 10

PMID 16763930

Citations 10

Authors

Ying-Chen Fang

Ming-Chin Yang

Ya-Seng Hsueh

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the differential cost between film-based radiology and a hospital-wide picture archiving and communication system (PACS) implemented all at once. The cash flow and running costs of PACS and film-based operation were measured over an 8-year time horizon. When the hospital-wide PACS was implemented over a short period, there was instant conversion into digital film and archives. The net present value (NPV) for PACS operation is US $1,598,698, whereas the NPV for film-based operation is US $2,083,856, indicating a net saving of US $485,157. The payback period is 4 years. The costs of computed radiography and image plates account for 40% of the initial capital expenditure in PACS implementation, followed by computer hardware (30%) and software (9%) costs. Our experience shows that implementation of hospital-wide PACS all at once can produce cost savings. For hospitals intending to go filmless, this study offers a model for financial evaluation of PACS to help in decision making.

Citing Articles

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