Radiology Information System. The software that manages the radiology workflow in a clinic.
Schedules radiology studies, exchanges information with the modalities (the radiology devices) so the studies have proper metadata, exchanges information with the PACS (the radiology image storage), it might be used by radiologists and/or transcriptionists to add the reports for the studies...
It might overlap a bit with the HIS (hospital information system) that's the more general hospital management software.
The RIS became a thing before the PACS as digital imaging arrived later in the piece. They should always have been integrated, as many things are clumsy when spread across two systems. Some ‘reports’ are an image (eg vessel mapping and many cardiac reports). Some imaging doesn’t require a written report (theatre screening for implant placement). Some imaging requires multiple reports (a cardiac CT scan which covers lungs often gets a radiology and cardiology report).
Some imaging is done to aid the acquisition of a different type of imaging. All these scenarios are handled in various clumsy ways by the various system and work around workflows are made up by staff on a near daily basis.
Oh yes! I've been out of the sector for ~5years but I worked on it for 15 years and it's amusing (well, except when you have to work on it) how different everything is on every place.
The manual data introduction, the shortcuts and workarounds, the differences on roles and even meanings! The words RIS, PACS or HIS doesn't mean the same to every person and have different functions on different places. Just ask somebody to compare a PACS to a VNA and run away! :D
In a way I miss the field, as it felt more productive than whatever stupid consulting firm that can reach me through LinkedIn.
