In veterinary imaging, delays, errors, and inefficiencies often stem not from lack of skill but from systems that are simply behind the times. If your veterinary PACS is outdated, you’re likely working around limitations every day: slow access to images, disconnected workflows, frustrated staff, and possibly compromised patient care. In this post, we’ll examine concrete signs that your PACS is out-of-date, backed by current market and academic data,  and what features a modern system should provide to bring you up to standard and beyond.

• Slow upload/download speeds: large radiographs, CT/MRIs or even ultrasound files take too long to move across your network or from modality to PACS.

• Archive search is sluggish; pulling up older studies is time‐consuming because of disorganized storage or inefficient indexing.

• Limited or manual image sharing – e.g. emailing DICOMs or using thumb drives instead of secure network/cloud sharing.

• Your PACS is isolated – no connection with your practice management system (PMS), scheduling system, billing, or Electronic Health Records (EHR).

• Duplicated data entry (patient info, case IDs, billing codes) because systems don’t sync.

• Difficulty comparing current and past imaging because modalities or departments use different tools or formats.

• Reliance on local hard drives or servers with high maintenance burden, risk of failure or data loss.

• Weak security controls: insufficient user permissions, weak encryption, or no secure cloud backup.

• Poor audit trails or versioning, which matter for legal, regulatory, or quality assurance oversight.

• No built-in analytics: you can’t track how many cases are reviewed per week, turnaround times, error rates, or workflow bottlenecks.
• Reporting tools are manual or external; you don’t have dashboards that show imaging‐study volumes or modality usage.

• Q: How do I know if my veterinary PACS is truly outdated vs. just underused?
  A: If you have frequent delays, repeated workflow friction, poor usability, or gaps in integration, those are more than underuse — they are signs of system limitations.

• Q: Will upgrading to a modern PACS cost more in the long run?
  A: Usually the ROI (time savings, fewer errors, better throughput) outweighs the upfront cost — especially when you factor in reduced staff frustration, improved diagnostics, fewer retakes, and less IT support cost.

• Q: What minimum tech specs or features should a clinic demand in a modern veterinary PACS?
  A: Secure cloud/hybrid storage, DICOM standard compliance, species/breed anatomical labeling, integration with PMS/EHR, measurement/annotation tools, audit/logging, dashboards & analytics.