DICOM Attribute

Institutional Department Name (0008,1040)

Keyword
InstitutionalDepartmentName
VR
LO
VM
1

Definition

Department in the institution where the equipment that produced the Composite Instances is located.

From NEMA PS3.3 §C.7.5.1.

Attribute Metadata

Tag
(0008,1040)
Keyword
InstitutionalDepartmentName
Name
Institutional Department Name
Value Representation (VR)
LO
Value Multiplicity (VM)
1
Status
Active
Source
NEMA PS3.6 (table_6-1)

This attribute is part of the current DICOM Standard. Its value representation is LO with multiplicity 1.

Used in 6 Modules

This attribute uses the LO Value Representation. Multiplicity 1 governs how many values may be encoded.

Integration Notes

Real-world integration guidance for engineers implementing this attribute in Mirth Connect, FHIR gateways, HL7 v2 bridges, and cloud DICOM services. Authoritative source data where available; reference examples and operational notes where they add value.

FHIR Mapping

  • ImagingStudy.location (0008,1040) | (0040,0243)

Source: HL7 FHIR R5 ImagingStudy (CC0).

HL7 v2 Equivalent

  • OBX-23 / OBR-13 Performing Organization Name / Relevant Clinical Info site-dependent
    ORU

    Loose mapping. DICOM InstitutionalDepartmentName names the imaging department; HL7 v2 carries similar info in OBX-23 (Performing Organization Name) for results.

    Source: common convention

Verify against IHE Radiology TF Vol 2 and your facility's interface specification before production use.

Cloud DICOM Support

AWS HealthImaging, Azure DICOM, and GCP Healthcare DICOM coverage rolls out by attribute. The QIDO-RS matching keys + Patient/Study/Series core (~50 attributes) are documented; lower-traffic attributes will be added as Saga teams encounter them in production.

Real-World Sample Values

  • Radiation Therap rtplan.dcm

Extracted from pydicom test fixtures (MIT, de-identified).

Mirth Connect Example

JavaScript transformer snippets for the most-queried tags will be added as coverage expands.

Common Operational Errors

Operational error patterns for the most-queried tags will be added as coverage expands.

DICOM Integration Services

Saga IT builds production DICOM integrations across Mirth Connect, FHIR gateways, and cloud imaging platforms. If you're working with InstitutionalDepartmentName or the broader (0008,1040) context: