Using private Study-level DICOM attribute for workflow state in dcm4chee-arc 5.x

[Amms]

Dear Team,

We are using dcm4chee-arc-light 5.x integrated with RIS.

We have a workflow requirement where:

• All incoming studies should default to “Unconfirmed”

• Later, a radiologist should update the study to “Confirmed”

• RIS will filter visibility based on this status

We would like clarification on the following:

1. Is it acceptable to implement this using a private Study-level DICOM attribute?

2. If yes:

   • Which private tag range/group is recommended?

   • Is using an odd group such as (7777,xxxx) appropriate?

3. What is the correct way to add such an attribute at Study level on incoming C-STORE?

   • Should this be done using Attribute Coercion?

   • If so, how can we ensure the attribute is applied at Study level (not Instance level)?

4. For later updating the value (“Unconfirmed” → “Confirmed”), is IOCM-RS (PUT /studies/{uid}) the correct mechanism?

We want to ensure:

• Full DICOM compliance

• No misuse of reserved groups

• No indexing or C-STORE side effects

• Proper database mapping if searchable

Any best practice guidance would be greatly appreciated.