DICOM is a standard used to exchange what type of data?

• A. Medical images
• B. Insurance claims
• C. Clinical trial results
• D. Laboratory reports

Answer: (A)

DICOM is the standard for exchanging medical images and their associated data. It defines both the file format for the image data and the network protocols used to transfer those images between devices and systems, such as scanners, viewing workstations, and Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS). This interoperability is what allows X-ray, CT, MRI, ultrasound, and other imaging studies to be shared across different vendors and healthcare facilities, along with essential patient and study metadata.

Insurance claims, clinical trial results, and laboratory reports rely on other standards—claims use X12, clinical data often uses HL7/FHIR or CDISC, and labs use HL7/LOINC—so they aren’t what DICOM is designed to exchange.