The future of picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) is changing. What emerged more than 20 years ago with a bang and helped change the face of diagnostic imaging and productivity is now seeing its own changes as new technology advances. Functions that once were exclusive to PACS are shifting to different applications.
This was the main topic of discussion at the 2015 annual meeting of the Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine (SIIM) in Washington, D.C. The conversation started with the opening keynote by Donald Dennison, director-at-large on the Board of Directors for SIIM, who addressed "The Next Imaging Evolution: A World Without PACS (As We Know It)." Dennison's talk addressed the impending shift away from traditional PACS, why it will happen and how to prepare to take advantage of the change. According to Dennison, three market forces are driving this change: medicine's changing business model, electronic medical records (EMR) adoption and consolidation. This discussion continued after the keynote in one of SIIM's town hall meetings, where attendees had the opportunity to discuss and debate the predictions made during Dennison's address.
I had the opportunity to discuss several key issues with top industry leaders while at SIIM, including "the next imaging evolution" with Dennison. You can watch these videotaped interviews on Imaging Technology News' Web channel, itnTV. Topics addressed include:
Don Dennison Discusses the Next Imaging
Evolution at SIIM 2015
Donald Dennison, director-at-large on the Board of Directors for SIIM, shares his thoughts on "the next imaging evolution," and the technical and market forces that are driving this change. http://bit.ly/1JoGxkY
What is Social Media and mHealth? With Richard Wiggins III, M.D.
SIIM 2015 Program Committee Chair Richard Wiggins III, M.D., discusses social media and mHealth, and explains what SIIM is doing to integrate it. http://bit.ly/1KOVgWM
Discussing Interoperability at SIIM 2015 with David Brown
SIIM Chair David Brown discusses interoperability, and his concerns from a data security and compliance perspective. http://bit.ly/1HNciOV
SIIM 2015 Hackathon with Donald Dennison
Donald Dennison, co-chair of the SIIM Hackathon committee, discusses the objectives for this event's second year at SIIM. http://bit.ly/1KcGvvO
It will be interesting to see where PACS stands next year at this time, and what new, undiscovered technologies will make their way into the daily productivity cycle. Be sure to mark your calendars for the SIIM 2016 annual meeting, June 29-July 1 in Portland, Ore. The Call for Abstracts deadline is Sept. 14, 2015. For more information, visit www.SIIM2016.org.
October 25, 2026 
