The following systems can help you securely view, edit, and share DICOM images. However, if your system doesn’t support DICOM, you’re having difficulty communicating with a PACS or RIS system, or if you don’t have PACS/RIS access - or even EHR at all - a free DICOM viewer will help you get started viewing images. If you can already view DICOM images within your EHR, you likely won’t require a standalone viewer. Most EHR systems support the DICOM standard for viewing and transmitting images. It is an international standard file format and network communications protocol developed by the American College of Radiology (ACR) specifically for medical imaging. To accomplish this, many providers are choosing standalone DICOM viewers.ĭICOM stands for Digital Imaging and COmmunications in Medicine.

As medicine moves towards a film-less future, providers must have the software tools necessary to share, view, or edit medical images. Interoperability woes can make it difficult to share and view medical images from disparate systems, especially if providers are using outdated EMR software or don’t have a Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS).

Despite high adoption rates and a myriad of choices, the complexity of many medical software systems can frustrate even the most technologically literate provider.

What is a dicomdir file