Hospital clinical services leader of radiology Dr Ben Wilson said introducing the system would be a "fantastic event in the history of the hospital''.
It would revolutionise the work of radiologists and the way they had clinical discussions with colleagues.
Doctors in different parts of the hospital could discuss a patient's radiology images without having to be in the same room. Otago District Health Board group manager Sonja Dillon said the hospital might have to book fewer patients for radiology services while staff became familiar with the new system.
The long-term benefits for staff and patients should outweigh the short-term inconvenience, she said.
Hard copies of radiology images will no longer be carried between services. It will simply be a matter of authorised staff logging on to a computer and viewing X-rays, scans and radiologists' reports.
Work has begun on the new system, with the X-ray machine in the emergency department already digitally capable.
Machines in the radiology department will become digitally capable in the next few months, although the X-ray images will not be on a central database until the picture archiving and communication system (PACS) goes live.
Board regional chief information officer Grant Taylor said the level of access staff would have to the images would be defined by their role. Staff with no need to see such material would not have access.
Electronic access to records could be readily audited.
Any breaches of privacy had traditionally been viewed seriously by the board and in the past, before electronic record-keeping, had dismissed people found guilty of such breaches.
