Image Management System (IMS):

ARUP was one of the first clinical laboratories in the U.S. to implement an optical disk system for the scanning and retrieval of requisitions and other documents. The original system, installed in 1992, was replaced in 1999 with a far more sophisticated Image Management System (IMS) developed by ARUP's Information Technology Department. This system meets ARUP's unique need for storing thousands of documents and retrieving those images on demand. ARUP not only scans requisitions, but all packing lists that accompany incoming shipments as well as other documents such as billing or clinical protocol information that may be attached to a requisition.

Images are retained in hard drive memory with shadowed backup for at least six months for instant access and then are archived on high capacity DVD disks. Each workstation in Specimen Processing, Exception Handling and Client Information Services, as well as selected other workstations, has access to the ARUP IMS. At any of these stations, entering the LIS accession number can retrieve images. However, in lieu of the accession number, the client account number can be used with the patient name, collection date, and/or social security number (if provided to ARUP) to access the desired image or a range of images (in the case of collection date).