Sectra PACS Integration

Trusted by NHS organisations, imaging networks, diagnostic providers, and healthtech innovators, 6B delivers full-lifecycle Sectra PACS integration, from discovery and architecture through development, testing, deployment, and ongoing support. We build secure, scalable integrations for contextual viewers, AI-assisted diagnostics, cross-site reporting, regional image sharing, clinical portals, and operational dashboards.

Our team combines radiology workflow knowledge with expertise in DICOM, DICOMweb, HL7 FHIR, HL7 messaging, XDS, FHIRcast, REST APIs, identity management, and clinical safety. We ensure images, reports, and clinical information remain accurately linked to the correct patient and study.

Understanding Sectra PACS

Sectra PACS forms part of the Sectra Enterprise Imaging platform, combining diagnostic imaging, workflow management, viewing, reporting, archiving, and collaboration.

The platform supports worklists, diagnostic viewers, reporting tools, and workflow orchestration across departments, multi-site organisations, and regional networks. It can extend beyond radiology into cardiology, digital pathology, orthopaedics, ophthalmology, and other image-intensive specialties.

Sectra’s vendor-neutral archive can store DICOM images alongside video, audio, ECGs, non-DICOM media, and whole-slide pathology images. Supported interoperability standards include DICOM, HL7, XDS, FHIRcast, and secure web APIs.

Sectra also provides the Image Exchange Portal, enabling image and report transfer between UK care providers.

Our Sectra PACS Integration Process

We begin with structured discovery involving radiology, clinical, digital, operational, technical, and governance stakeholders. Together, we define workflows, users, data requirements, safety constraints, and intended outcomes.

Typical integrations include demographic synchronisation, study creation, contextual viewer launch, prior-examination retrieval, report distribution, AI services, cross-provider exchange, and imaging analytics.

We map identifiers and information across the imaging lifecycle, including NHS numbers, local identifiers, accession numbers, DICOM UIDs, imaging orders, studies, series, images, examination statuses, reports, amendments, and acknowledgements.

Architecture may use DICOM, DICOMweb, HL7 v2, FHIR, XDS, FHIRcast, secure APIs, integration engines, contextual launch, or event-driven messaging. We define responsibilities across PACS, RIS, EPR, PAS, modalities, and archive services.

Authentication can support OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, NHS CIS2, single sign-on, service accounts, and role-based access.

Reusable components accelerate development, including DICOM gateways, DICOMweb clients, HL7 parsers, FHIR handlers, identity-matching services, and routing pipelines. Secure testing validates patient matching, metadata, image routing, report association, contextual synchronisation, permissions, audit trails, performance, failure recovery, and downtime reconciliation.

Before launch, we coordinate acceptance testing, clinical safety review, migration, deployment, and documentation. After go-live, we monitor data flows, resolve issues, and maintain compatibility with Sectra and NHS changes.

Benefits of Sectra PACS Integration

Radiologists gain connected access to images, prior studies, reporting tools, specialist applications, and clinical information. Workflow management helps route examinations to the appropriate reporting teams.

Referring clinicians can access authorised images and reports directly from EPRs, portals, or shared care systems. Contextual integration, including FHIRcast, reduces navigation and patient-selection risk.

Radiographers benefit from consistent demographic, order, and accession data, while imaging networks gain greater flexibility to share studies and reporting workloads across locations.

AI applications can be embedded into diagnostic workflows, and patients benefit from fewer repeat examinations and more coordinated decisions.

Operational teams gain visibility of study volumes, backlogs, turnaround times, archive growth, failed transfers, viewer performance, and service availability.

For healthtech vendors, Sectra integration provides reusable, standards-based access to established NHS enterprise imaging environments.

Why Choose 6B for Sectra PACS Integration?

6B designs around the complete imaging lifecycle, keeping information accurate and traceable from acquisition through retention.

Our specialists understand DICOM, DICOMweb, HL7 FHIR, HL7 v2, XDS, FHIRcast, APIs, integration engines, and contextual launch.

We manage complex identity and metadata requirements, including patient identifiers, accession numbers, DICOM UIDs, procedure codes, laterality, study status, and report amendments.

Reusable gateways, routing components, matching services, authentication flows, transformation frameworks, validation tools, and monitoring modules accelerate delivery without compromising quality.

Security, governance, and privacy are embedded through encryption, role-based access, permissions, audit logging, data minimisation, retention controls, and sensitive-information safeguards.

We support DCB0129 and DCB0160 through hazard management, validation, alerting, reconciliation, downtime procedures, and operational controls.

From discovery to maintenance, 6B provides one accountable partner for regional sharing, cloud deployment, migration, resilience, and dependable NHS imaging integration.

Sectra PACS Integration FAQs

What is Sectra PACS?

Sectra PACS is a diagnostic imaging platform for storing, managing, viewing, reporting, and sharing medical images. It forms part of Sectra’s wider Enterprise Imaging platform alongside its vendor-neutral archive and specialist imaging workflows.

Can Sectra PACS integrate with third-party systems?

Yes. Sectra PACS can connect with RIS, EPR, PAS, imaging modalities, reporting tools, artificial intelligence applications, clinical portals, and external archives. Available interfaces depend on the installed version, licensed components, and local architecture.

Which interoperability standards does Sectra PACS support?

Sectra’s Enterprise Imaging platform supports standards and interfaces including DICOM, HL7, XDS, FHIRcast, and its Web Content API. Sectra also publishes DICOM and IHE conformance information for its products.

What information can be exchanged with Sectra PACS?

An integration may exchange patient demographics, imaging orders, accession numbers, DICOM study and series identifiers, images, examination statuses, diagnostic reports, amendments, and workflow acknowledgements.

Can Sectra PACS integrate with artificial intelligence tools?

Yes. AI applications can be incorporated into Sectra imaging workflows to support functions such as prioritisation, image analysis, and diagnostic decision-making. The precise workflow depends on the application, integration route, and local clinical governance.

Can Sectra PACS support cloud deployment?

Yes. Sectra offers Enterprise Imaging as a cloud service through Sectra One Cloud, and NHS organisations have deployed Sectra PACS in cloud-managed environments.

Can Sectra PACS share images between NHS organisations?

Yes. Sectra’s vendor-neutral Image Exchange Portal enables providers to exchange medical images and reports securely. NHS England states that the service is used by almost every hospital in the UK.

How long does a Sectra PACS integration take?

Timescales depend on the interfaces, image volumes, RIS and modality connections, archive architecture, migration requirements, supplier coordination, governance, and testing scope. A focused interface may take several weeks, while an enterprise or regional imaging programme may take several months.

Readiness checklist for Sectra PACS Integration

Define the imaging workflows and use cases your integration will support, such as image ingestion, contextual viewing, reporting, AI analysis, cross-site sharing, migration, or analytics.
Identify the Sectra PACS, VNA, IDS7 viewer, RIS, EPR, PAS, modalities, reporting, AI, IEP, and third-party systems involved in each workflow.
Confirm which DICOM, DICOMweb, HL7, FHIR, XDS, FHIRcast, API, contextual-launch, or integration-engine interfaces are available within the target deployment.
Map patient identifiers, orders, accession numbers, DICOM study and series UIDs, procedure codes, image objects, reports, amendments, and acknowledgements across connected systems.
Define which system will act as the source of truth for demographics, imaging orders, workflow status, study metadata, images, reports, and report amendments.
Confirm how patient merges, demographic corrections, duplicate studies, rejected images, incomplete transfers, and historical archive records will be reconciled.
Document authentication, authorisation, NHS CIS2, single sign-on, role-based access, organisation context, encryption, service-account, and audit-logging requirements.
Prepare governance and clinical safety documentation, including the lawful basis, DPIA, DSPT position, and applicable DCB0129 or DCB0160 responsibilities.
Develop a testing plan covering synthetic data, patient merges, duplicate studies, incomplete series, unavailable modalities, archive downtime, AI failures, cross-site retrieval, high image volumes, and clinical user acceptance.
Agree deployment, migration, monitoring, incident management, supplier coordination, interface change control, disaster recovery, upgrades, and ongoing support arrangements before production go-live.