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History

History of the Society RISC-SCAR-SIIM Pioneers History of Digital Imaging in Medicine References PACS History Website SCAR News - 25th Anniversary Issue History of the SIIM/SCAR Annual Meeting Past SIIM/SCAR Chairs

Drs. Gitlin and Allman display their RISC, SCAR, and SIIM paraphernalia at SIIM2011

Presentations

Building Bridges: Centralized Versus Distributed Health Information Systems
Ronald Arenson, MD, FSIIM (presentation slides)
 

History of the Society

The Society for Computer Applications in Radiology (SCAR) - now the Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine (SIIM) - is the longest-serving resource for imaging professionals (physicians, administrators, technologists, Imaging Informatics Professionals, engineers, scientists, physicists) interested in the current and future use of technologies for image and information interpretation and management.

SIIM had its origins in 1980 with a small group of forward-thinking individuals who could see that medical imaging was on the verge of undergoing a revolutionary change. The Radiology Information System Consortium (RISC) was formed in 1980 by a group of academic and private hospitals for the purpose of developing a RIS with a commercial partner and making it available to member institutions and others. In 1989, the Society for Computer Applications in Radiology (SCAR) was founded as an organization under the RISC banner. SCAR provided a structure to include individual members, and RISC's biannual meeting on computer applications was transferred to SCAR in 1990. In 1996, RISC and SCAR were merged under the SCAR name to include individual, corporate, and institutional members.

In 2005, SCAR celebrated its 25th anniversary with a new vision for the future. The Society's new tagline - innovating imaging informatics - emphasizes the organization's commitment to lead the medical imaging community in the use and innovation of cutting-edge imaging technology.

In 2006, the Society changed its name to the Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine (SIIM) to better reflect the broadened role of imaging across the medical enterprise. The Society decided to change its name to better describe the diversity of its constituency, to expand research and activities into the entire field of imaging informatics, to include all of the imaging sciences, and to embrace the dynamic changes in the healthcare environment.

From its inception, SIIM has made a significant contribution to facilitating productive, open, and forward-thinking interactions between users and the industry. SIIM continues its success as a unique professional organization at the nexus of medical imaging and information technologies.