How Does DICOM Storage Fit Into Your Strategic Plan? (Or Does It?).

Advanced DICOM Storage Solutions

Managing medical images across the enterprise is a challenge that all healthcare organizations face today. This involves more than just thinking of PACS as the focal point – it involves addressing DICOM storage solutions.

Where enterprise imaging is concerned, you can no longer think in terms of DICOM-only solutions. Non-DICOM images must also be considered. This means you need to take a step back from the traditional DICOM departmental PACS scenario.

The best way to tackle this new method is to begin with a strategic plan that goes beyond replacing the PACS.  This is due, in part, to the fact that non-traditional images must also be considered, which could include videos and mobile-friendly images. One of the biggest challenges you can face is having access to the medical imaging via electronic medical records.

Another issue you may have is in regard to complications in approaching a radiology-centric solution that goes beyond DICOM studies. For instance, there are a number of departments whose medical imaging is coming down in form of MPEG video instead of still frame images. This means the files are exceedingly large, which only exacerbates the interface issues. Video editing also requires a lot of labor, which is another issue to be grappled with. In fact, most radiology PACS aren’t built to be compatible with such procedures.

The solution begins by establishing firm footing with a viewing process that is more universal, which means it is DICOM and non-DICOM compatible, including video. What is ideal is to see is a single-pane view of any image associated with the patient being examined.

How do you overcome these challenges if you have a modest budget? Can there be an accessible solution for DICOM and non-DICOM viewing that doesn’t involve a large price tag? The answer is in the cloud, and it involves vendor neutral archiving (VNA). By taking on a cloud-based archiving solution, you can gain access to medical images via the cloud without worry of images being non-compatible with your viewers.

The best cloud-based archiving vendors allow the images to be viewed on mobile devices. These are vendors who give clients the ability to store the complete suite of DICOM SOP classes, and in a non-proprietary format that is understood across the client’s enterprise and others. DICOM tags can be manipulated and converted to fit the need of each unique client.

At OffSite Image Management, Inc., we’ve developed DICOM storage solutions that will fit any budget, anywhere. We know that many rural providers are stretched in terms of budget and personnel and our solutions can help overcome those challenges. Contact us today and let’s talk about how we can get your viewing capabilities up to speed.