Constructing a secure HIPACS with structured reporting

Abstract

The specification of security features of the DICOM (digital imaging and communication in medicine) standard is not clear where encryption and decryption are concerned. In the age of digital medicine, a growing need for secure transfer and storage of patient data is obvious. In medical science, the design of a PACS (picture archiving and communication system) is essential for storing digital images. This paper describes an alternative method of integrating encryption as a DICOM- conform mechanism in a PACS and via a DICOM-conform directory service in a HIS (hospital information system)/RIS (radiological information system). It is useful to integrate these systems in order to be able to merge existing patient data with DICOM images. The DICOM supplement SR (structured reporting) is used for encryption and as an interface- specification for databases. SR also allows the definition of private coding schemes. It is possible to integrate security in a PACS by using one, private, coding scheme for encryption and a different coding scheme for decryption. The interface to the databases is a directory service that uses its attributes to store orders from databases and which retrieves orders for the databases. This method makes the construction of a secure HIPACS (hospital integrated picture archiving system) possible.