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Review
. 2024 Mar 13;10(6):e27847.
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e27847. eCollection 2024 Mar 30.

The retention duration of digital images in picture archiving and communication systems

Farzaneh Behnam  1 , Reza Khajouei  2 , Leila Ahmadian  1
Affiliations
Review

The retention duration of digital images in picture archiving and communication systems

Farzaneh Behnam et al. Heliyon. .

Abstract

Introduction: Every year, a large number of medical images such as MRIs, CT scans, and radiographs are prepared in hospitals, and a lot of money is spent on their preparation. Picture archiving and communication system (PACS) is an integrated image management system for maintaining and storing digital images. The objective of this study was to determine the storage duration of digital images in PACS.

Methods: This was a scoping review study in which we searched the PubMed and Embase databases using a combination of terms related to radiography, storage, and duration. The reference lists of included articles were checked to identify other relevant articles. Moreover, we searched Google to retrieve relevant gray literature and other information sources including guidelines. The selection process was carried out in three stages and was reported based on the PRISMA flowchart and the data were extracted using the data collection form.

Results: Based on the database search 2867 articles were identified, of which 13 articles were eligible for inclusion. Searching for gray literature identified 7 relevant sources. The results showed that based on the institutions' plans and regulations, different countries have different storage policies. In general, to store images between 6 and 240 months for short-term storage and between 0 and 240 months for long-term storage were considered.

Conclusion: Due to financial constraints and storage space requirements, healthcare organizations can provide a solution by drafting guidelines on the appropriate storage duration for medical images. The findings of this study can assist healthcare authorities and healthcare centers in employing PACS systems to manage and minimize storage space for medical images, thereby reducing storage costs.

Keywords: Archive; Medical image; Radiography; Storage.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
PRISMA diagram of the study.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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