Hosted Cloud PACS: What are the Benefits?.

CD Burning Technology Takes a Back Seat to Hosted Cloud PACS

The need for on-demand access to diagnostic studies is something that’s on the minds of just about every medical imaging specialist today. However, healthcare professionals in many different positions, from surgeons to office administrators, also need unfettered access to images. Hosted cloud PACS (picture archiving and communication system) are giving these providers the access they need.

PACS have been around for a while now and until recently, your options when shopping for a PACS that fits your needs were fairly slim. For instance, you were limited to a PACS that took up a large amount of physical space and put a major dent in your budget. These are issues that have been solved by hosted cloud PACS because they require no physical space in your facility and come at a greatly reduced cost.

There are similarities between hosted cloud PACS and on-premise PACS. However, the biggest difference is that rather than having to manage the hardware and software associated with a PACS, you let the off site vendor take care of all of that. Furthermore, you don’t need to pull your IT staff away from their daily duties to manage anything associated with your medical imaging data.

You’re probably familiar by now with the term SaaS – if not, it means software-as-a-service. It’s used interchangeably today with cloud. As we said above, when you go with a SaaS option, you don’t do any heavy lifting; everything is stored, managed and operated off site, in the cloud. You don’t have to configure networks and VPNs or manage updates anymore when you go with the SaaS option.

Another aspect of SaaS or cloud computing is that when you pick the right vendor, you get disaster recovery assurances that you wouldn’t have if you stored all your data on-site. The best vendors will use multiple Level IV datacenters where the servers are under 24/7/365 surveillance both physically and by applications that detect when anything is going awry with the hardware. This level of attention to detail ensures that your data will always be available to you at any time, regardless of what natural or human-related disasters are going on in your region.

When you get connected with the right vendor, you’ll have the ability to share your images across departments and to other facilities miles from where you’re stationed. This means you can finally stop using your expensive and inefficient CD burning technology. All you need to do is send a custom URL to those who need access to specific images. This saves technologists a good amount of time and rids you of the frustration associated with malfunctioning CDs. Furthermore, you’ll free up storage space at your facility.

At OffSite Image Management, Inc., we’ve developed the off site solutions you need to save time, money and provide your patients with better care. Our vendor neutral platform gives you the ability to share your images with anyone, anywhere. Instead of dropping a large amount of money on a PACS solution, contact OffSite.