• Vázquez Naya, José Manuel
• Castro Blanco, Antonio F.
• Pereira Loureiro, Javier
• Pérez Ordóñez, Juan Luís
• Teijeiro Vidal, Jorge
• Pazos Sierra, Alejandro

1. Introduction This work identifies the main technical qualities that are indispensable in a PACS, and shows the key points for its successful implementation and the relevance of the adopted design decisions. 2. Methods As a result of previous works made in the IMEDIR Centre, the analysis of various PACS, and the development of the Secure Medical Imaging Information System (SMIIS), we have identified a series of technical requirements that must be achieved by a PACS for its successful implementation in a hospital environment. These requirements are strongly dependent on the system design. 3. Results In order to achieve a successful implementation in a hospital, the PACS must: 1.Be able to retrieve images that proceed from any kind of hospital equipment, DICOM or not and store the data in DICOM format. 2.Be transactional and guarantee the integrity of the stored data. 3.Allow the integration with the HIS and the RIS. 4.Be scalable, allowing to increase the performance of the system simply by adding hardware resources, without having to change the software. 5.Be able to adjust the presentation of the data to the needs of each organization. 6.Provide the security measures that are required by the legislation, or respect the norms established by an international code. 4. Conclusion The successful implementation of a PACS depends on characteristics that are related with the structure of the system and, therefore, they must be taken into account during the design phase. Although design decisions are not unique, we plead for the use of solutions based on patterns and use widely accepted standards.