With the introduction of digital imaging in radiology, CDRs
are increasingly used to distribute patient materials.
This study investigates the application of a new software
package and work protocol to integrate outhospital
data into the local PACS (picture archive and
communication system) archive, which is hampered by
differences in patient numbers. A one-month trial was
started to import CD-Rs from two departments (radiotherapy
and radiology). Seventy CD-Rs were collected
from 20 different hospitals holding data of eight
different modality types and published by eight different
software packages from different vendors. All CDRs
were successfully transferred into the PACS. The
new software and work protocol provide an easy way
of introducing the out-hospital data into the PACS. CDRs
can be destroyed after transfer to PACS, eliminating
physical storage. Furthermore, all data can now be
viewed and reported using the default viewers of the
hospital and no additional training of staff is required