Medical images are a critical component of the healthcare system with great impact on the society?s welfare. Traditionally medical images were stored on film but the advances in modern imaging modalities made it possible to store them electronically. Thus, this research proposes a novel framework for classifying various strategies for storing, retrieving and processing digital medical images. In addition to a detailed discussion, the assessment of the classification framework includes a potential usage scenario of the framework. For researchers, this study identifies important strategies and points out future research directions while, for practitioners, the proposed framework might help medical users develop a lucid understanding of the different approaches and their advantages and disadvantages.