VNA and Its Place in the Healthcare Image Management Industry
It’s an exciting time to be involved in the medical image market as projections for the industry point
to a value of $5.85 billion by 2021. That’s a 6.5 percent growth from this year’s value of $4.22 billion. How does VNA fit into this projection?
Experts in the field expect the growth factors to include the booming medical image management market related to technological advancements, particularly in diagnostic imaging modalities and image management solutions. Furthermore, the industry has witnessed increased investments in medical imaging and increased use of imaging technology. Finally, the fact that there is a growing adoption of vendor neutral archiving (VNA) technology, it’s become an integral part of the image management strategy for many providers.
There are government initiatives that encourage electronic medical (EMR) records adoption, and there are a variety of obstacles providers face in the adoption of EMR. However, VNA has proven to be a great way around those obstacles. If you look at “Meaningful Use” legislation, you can see how the benefits are achieved through VNA. For example, Stage 1 of Meaningful Use encouraged the adoptions of electronic Health Records (EHR), which had to be achieved within a certain time. In Stage 2, a timeline was set up for providers to increase access to imaging data. VNA stepped up to assist providers in making those deadlines.
When providers integrate picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) with the VNA technology, they increase consolidation in healthcare and offer themselves a number of opportunities for improvement, especially in workflow, archiving and access.
Providers today are operating in two primary modes with their image management – departmental PACS and enterprise PACS. However, VNA can be delivered with on-premise and a hybrid version, which includes on-premise and cloud-based delivery. At this point, the VNA market seems to be segmented into department VNA, multi-site enterprise VNA, and multi-departmental enterprise VNA. What is emerging as a leader, in terms of access and cost, is the cloud-based model for any segment.
The basis of this advantage in the cloud has to do with the vendor’s ability to utilize many top-notch data centers with virtually limitless scalability. Some can argue that cloud-based vendors are offering a one-size-fits-all solution, which means clients are paying for more than they actually need. What they want is scalability, and that’s what the best vendors are offering.
VNA in the cloud, like what is offered with OffSite Image Management, Inc., is shaping the industry. We’re giving our clients the flexibility they need as they grow, and they’re saving money doing it while simultaneously improving their workflow, business continuity and disaster recovery processes. When it comes to providing a 360-degree solution for medical image management, OffSite is leading the field. Furthermore, we’re not limiting our client base to large providers. We’re focusing on rural providers with limited budgets and resources as well. Contact us today and let’s discuss how our solutions will impact your organization.