One patient who has benefited from PACS is Andrew Harvie, an estate agent who lives in Balham, London. Unfortunately, Andrew was mugged on his way home one Thursday evening in December 2007. As a result of the attack, Andrew's jaw was broken in several places.

After arriving in accident and emergency (A&E) early on Friday morning, Andrew waited to have some x-rays taken to examine his fractures. Luckily, St George's hospital had installed PACS for patient images and scans which meant that straight away, Andrew's x-rays could be captured and stored electronically.

"After being taken to the x-ray department, it wasn't long before I was back with the doctor in A&E. It felt like my broken jaw was just sitting in my mouth so I was really keen to see my x-rays.

I felt better informed about what was happening because the doctor called me over and showed me my own images on screen. I could clearly see the extent of the damage as he explained that my jaw had a clean break on one side of my face and on the other side it was shattered all the way up to my skull."

Better care planning resulting from easier access to images

One of the main benefits of PACS is that x-rays and scans are available instantly – there is no need to wait for the processing of hard copy film, like there was in the past, so it means patients can benefit from a much speedier move to the next point of treatment or discharge.

Later that Friday, Andrew was taken up to the ward where he stayed overnight. The next morning he was taken down to the operating theatre where the surgeons set about realigning his jaw.

"After coming round from the operation, I went back down to the x-ray department for more scans. This was so everything could be checked to make sure the operation had gone well and that my jaw was back in place. Not long after, I was discharged and went home that night."

Instant access to historic x-rays and scans

PACS enables the comparison of old and new patient images, which helps radiologists and non-radiology consultants measure the effectiveness of their patients' treatment and monitor their progress.

"I had to go back to the hospital for regular checks just to make sure everything was healing nicely and so, on Christmas Eve, I went back to St George's for some more scans.

"I remember thinking how quick the process was because by the time I had walked back up from the x-ray department, the consultant was there looking at my new x-rays on-screen in front of him.

"I was impressed because the consultant could show me the new images on-screen and then flip between those and the x-rays I had taken upon my first visit to A&E.

"From my experience of PACS, I'd say it's a great improvement on the old method of taking x-rays.

"Whilst I've been lucky enough not to have broken any bones prior to last December, I do remember having some x-rays taken at the dentist and having to wait over a week for the films to be processed. Thankfully, my wait in A&E wasn't too long at all and, considering it was a busy Friday, I was in and out very quickly."