PACS Administrator Training Course

Lesson 1 • DICOM Standard Fundamentals

Introduces DICOM as the universal imaging standard governing storage and communication. Explains how DICOM compliance ensures interoperability across vendors.

Lesson 2 • HL7 and RIS Integration Basics

Explains HL7 messaging and its role in connecting RIS orders to PACS worklists. Establishes the data handoff model used throughout the radiology workflow.

Lesson 3 • PACS Architecture and Components

Defines PACS servers, archive tiers, workstations, and brokers. Connects component roles to overall system reliability and performance.

Lesson 4 • Radiology Department Workflow

Maps patient journey from order entry to image interpretation and report delivery. Grounds technical PACS knowledge in real clinical operational context.

Lesson 1 • PACS Software Installation

Walks through vendor-agnostic PACS software deployment steps and licence activation. Establishes a repeatable installation process applicable across environments.

Lesson 2 • Server Hardware and OS Preparation

Covers hardware sizing, RAID configuration, and OS hardening for PACS servers. Proper preparation prevents performance bottlenecks and security vulnerabilities.

Lesson 3 • Initial System Validation and Baseline

Establishes performance baselines and validates end-to-end image flow before go-live. Documented baselines enable future troubleshooting and capacity planning.

Lesson 4 • Modality and Workstation Onboarding

Covers adding imaging modalities and diagnostic workstations to the PACS environment. Ensures devices can send, receive, and display images correctly.

Lesson 1 • DICOM Worklist Management

Explains modality worklist server configuration and query filtering for accurate patient matching. Proper worklist management reduces data entry errors at the modality.

Lesson 2 • Image Routing Rule Design

Teaches attribute-based routing using DICOM tags such as modality, body part, and AE title. Well-designed rules automate distribution and reduce manual intervention.

Lesson 3 • Troubleshooting DICOM Connectivity

Provides systematic methods for diagnosing failed associations, rejected transfers, and routing errors. Builds diagnostic confidence using logs and DICOM tools.

Lesson 4 • Network Infrastructure for PACS

Covers VLANs, QoS, bandwidth planning, and firewall rules specific to DICOM traffic. Network design directly impacts image transfer speed and system availability.

Lesson 1 • Capacity Planning and Monitoring

Teaches growth rate calculation, storage forecasting, and threshold alerting configuration. Proactive capacity management prevents storage exhaustion and system outages.

Lesson 2 • Vendor-Neutral Archive Concepts

Explains VNA principles, XDS-I integration, and metadata-driven storage independence. VNA adoption reduces vendor lock-in and supports enterprise imaging strategies.

Lesson 3 • Storage Tier Architecture

Defines online, nearline, and offline storage tiers and their performance characteristics. Tier selection directly affects retrieval speed and operational cost.

Lesson 4 • Automated Storage Migration Policies

Covers policy-based image migration rules triggered by age, study type, and access frequency. Automation reduces manual effort and ensures consistent data lifecycle management.

Lesson 1 • Encryption and Secure Transmission

Teaches TLS configuration for DICOM over TLS, data-at-rest encryption, and key management. Encryption protects images in transit and in storage from unauthorised access.

Lesson 2 • Healthcare Data Privacy Principles

Establishes patient data privacy obligations and minimum necessary access principles. Grounds all subsequent security configurations in regulatory and ethical context.

Lesson 3 • Audit Logging and Monitoring

Configures DICOM audit trail messages, SIEM integration, and access anomaly alerting. Audit logs provide evidence of compliance and enable incident investigation.

Lesson 4 • User Authentication and Authorisation

Covers LDAP/Active Directory integration, role-based access control, and MFA for PACS. Proper authentication prevents unauthorised access to sensitive imaging data.

Lesson 1 • Documentation and Knowledge Management

Establishes standards for runbooks, SOPs, and knowledge base articles for PACS operations. Good documentation reduces mean time to resolution and supports staff onboarding.

Lesson 2 • System Configuration Management

Teaches change control processes, configuration documentation, and version tracking for PACS settings. Controlled changes prevent unintended disruptions to clinical operations.

Lesson 3 • Scheduled Maintenance and Patching

Covers patch assessment, maintenance window planning, and post-patch validation for PACS. Regular patching reduces vulnerability exposure without disrupting clinical workflows.

Lesson 4 • Operational Monitoring and Alerting

Configures system health dashboards, threshold alerts, and on-call escalation procedures. Proactive monitoring enables rapid response before issues impact clinical users.

Lesson 1 • Common PACS Failure Scenarios

Analyses frequent failure patterns including storage full, database corruption, and network partition. Pattern recognition accelerates resolution of the most impactful incidents.

Lesson 2 • Systematic Troubleshooting Methodology

Applies a structured five-step diagnostic process to PACS incidents of any type. A repeatable methodology reduces diagnostic time and prevents recurring issues.

Lesson 3 • Performance Metrics and Baselining

Defines key PACS performance metrics including image prefetch time, query response, and throughput. Baselines established here enable meaningful comparison during incident analysis.

Lesson 4 • Image Prefetch and Caching Strategies

Teaches prefetch rule design, cache sizing, and eviction policy configuration for fast image display. Effective caching reduces radiologist wait time and improves reading efficiency.

Lesson 1 • High Availability and Failover Design

Teaches clustering, load balancing, and database mirroring for PACS high availability. HA architecture reduces unplanned downtime and supports continuous clinical operations.

Lesson 2 • Backup Architecture and Scheduling

Covers full, incremental, and differential backup strategies for PACS data and configuration. Backup design must meet RPO targets while minimising production system impact.

Lesson 3 • DR Testing and Plan Maintenance

Establishes tabletop, functional, and full failover test methodologies for PACS DR plans. Regular testing validates plan effectiveness and identifies gaps before real incidents.

Lesson 4 • Recovery Objectives and Risk Assessment

Defines RTO, RPO, and MTTR targets aligned to clinical operational requirements. Risk assessment identifies threats that inform DR strategy selection.