Will DIN-PACS be home for Christmas?

Will DIN-PACS be home for Christmas?

PACS industry observers are anxiously awaiting the outcome of the selection process for the Defense Imaging Network-Picture Archiving and Communications Systems (DIN-PACS) project, an effort by the U.S. military to set standards for the next wave of government PACS purchasing. But if you're looking for an advance hint as to who the DIN-PACS winners will be, don't hold your breath: The U.S. government is holding vendors to a strict code of silence.

About a half-dozen PACS vendors are competing for the DIN-PACS bids, with each firm part of a consortium that unites the talents of a diverse range of companies (PNN 6/97). Although only a handful of hospitals are slated to receive PACS networks in the initial DIN-PACS request for proposal (RFP), the payoff is expected to come down the road in future PACS purchasing by U.S. military hospitals.

The DIN-PACS selection process was in high gear all summer, with companies participating in benchmark tests and site visits designed to narrow the competitors to two or three consortia. Efforts by PNN in recent weeks to ascertain the current status of the project, however, have been met with silence by executives from several participating companies; all are loath to offend the Defense Personnel Support Center, the agency that is administering the selection process.

So it appears that the PACS market will have to wait for an official pronouncement on the outcome of DIN-PACS. Let's hope we don't have to wait too long-a DIN-PACS award would make a nice Christmas present for several lucky PACS companies.

-Brian Casey, Executive Editor