Despite years of advancements in radiology technology, there are still a substantial number of healthcare professionals relying on burning DICOM files onto compact discs. There are newer, more efficient, and cost-effective and ways of sharing and storing images.
Some of the most concerning aspects of using CDs include the potential to lose data, the costs involved and the lack of prompt patient care.
- Monetary Burden
Purchasing blank DVDs and CDs, the consumer sales of which have declined by nearly 90% (which means they’re not as available as they once were), adds up. Also, it requires burning software and the hardware needs to be replaced after years of use. - Physical Space
When floor space in an imaging facility is tight, the CD burning hardware takes up valuable room. - Data Loss
Entrusting a patient to take their CD to a healthcare provider runs the risk of them damaging or losing their CD. Also, the burning hardware can also malfunction, which means the CD is of no use and has wasted everyone’s time.
Fortunately, there is a cost-effective and more efficient way of storing and accessing DICOM images.
Cloud-Based Solutions
Cloud-based DICOM viewing allows you to get rid of your CD burning tools and utilize a more effective means of storing and sharing DICOM images. The on-demand solutions are often non-proprietary, which means you can use any type of viewer to see the images.
If you are using PACS and have issues regarding storage capacity, cloud-based vendors can offer limitless storage, which means you don’t have to purchase expensive servers and have your on-site IT staff manage them. When you pay for online storage, you can scale up or down depending on your need.
Another perk to using a cloud-based vendor is that your data will always be available to you as multiple data centers are available to back up your data. It’s a disaster recovery strategy that has been proven to work.
Choosing a Vendor
The best providers of DICOM imaging solutions provide vendor neutral archiving, which means you can view your images anywhere, anytime if you have Internet access.
At OffSite Image Management, our DICOM viewing tools are industry-leading. If you’ve had compatibility issues reading external patient media at the front desk, our services will clear that up in no time. But we offer much more than just the ability to read DICOM images. With OffSite you get everything you need to become more efficient because we bring DICOM migration services, Q/A workstation, HL7 interfaces, Modality worklist, image exchange and much more. Contact us and find out how we can improve your workflow while reducing costs.