CPAS Troubleshooting & System Maintenance Flashcards

What is the first action a PACS administrator should take when PACS becomes completely unavailable due to a major system failure?

Answer: Activate the documented downtime procedure and notify clinical staff so patient care can continue

The immediate priority during an outage is activating downtime protocols so clinical staff can maintain patient care workflows (e.g., printed images, portable devices) while the technical fault is diagnosed.

In a PACS disaster recovery plan, what does RTO (Recovery Time Objective) define?

Answer: The maximum acceptable elapsed time from failure to full PACS restoration

RTO specifies the maximum tolerable downtime — how quickly the PACS must be restored after a disaster to avoid unacceptable impact on clinical operations and patient safety.

What does RPO (Recovery Point Objective) determine in a PACS backup and recovery strategy?

Answer: The maximum amount of data measured in time that can be lost before clinical impact becomes unacceptable

RPO defines the acceptable data loss window; if RPO is 4 hours, backups must run at least every 4 hours so no more than 4 hours of imaging studies can be lost in a disaster.

A PACS modality worklist is not populating on a CT scanner despite the network connection being confirmed active. What should be investigated next?

Answer: The HL7 ADT feed from the HIS/RIS and the DICOM MWL server configuration and logs

The DICOM Modality Worklist (MWL) is populated from HL7 ADT messages sent by the HIS/RIS; failures in the HL7 feed or MWL server configuration are the most common causes of empty worklists.

When a failed PACS server must be replaced with new hardware, what is the most critical resource needed to restore full system functionality quickly?

Answer: Current, verified configuration backups and fully documented system settings

Comprehensive, up-to-date configuration backups allow the replacement server to be configured identically to the failed one, enabling rapid restoration with minimal manual reconstruction.

After restoring PACS from a major disaster recovery event, what final validation step confirms the system is clinically safe to resume production use?

Answer: Verifying image routing, display accuracy, and prior study accessibility with clinical staff before resuming full production

Clinical validation — confirming that images route correctly, display with accurate window/level, and prior studies are fully accessible — must be completed before radiologists resume reading to ensure patient safety.