MarketsandMarkets, a business research firm, estimates that over the next four years, picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) and vendor neutral archive (VNA) systems will be a $3.48 billion industry.Money 1

VNA, which is an image storage and sharing process because it allows healthcare professionals using disparate hardware and software to share medical imaging, has an estimated worth of around $165.3 million but will grow by more than 15 percent in the next few years.

Asian markets are expected to see the highest percentage of growth in radiology PACS and VNA as healthcare policies regarding IT are being implemented there. Australia is also in on this growth. However, North American healthcare professionals are currently the biggest consumers of radiology PACS and VNA.

MarketsandMarkets found that developing companies have a low use rate of PACS and VNA technology; many Middle Eastern and Latin American countries are seeing a much more robust adoption rate.

It is estimated that as lawmakers in developing countries see the benefit of using radiology PACS and VNA as those in Asia have witnessed, they’ll be more aggressive in seeking out funding to equip medical facilities with the technology that will allow more interoperability in the healthcare industry. In many parts of the world, the last year and a half has seen a very high rate of growth in migration to VNA. Some experts see the migration of PACS to VNA as a major movement in the future of healthcare IT.

Just about every hospital department has realized a need for VNA software that will allow them better access to their imaging and provide better business continuity as well as better patient care. Radiology and cardiology departments are really pushing this agenda and pretty far ahead of the remaining departments in most hospitals.

Other departments that are poised to take the lead include dermatology and areas where endoscopy videos and sleep analysis are used. Pathology and ophthalmology departments, according to some industry experts, are also ready to make strong attempts to jump headfirst into to PACS.

Complexities in the U.S. healthcare system and with insurance providers are seen as the biggest hurdles for comprehensive PACS and VNA strategies. Perhaps the U.S. will follow the lead of healthcare providers in Western Europe who have been able to significantly improve clinical workflows and efficiencies between departments and between hospitals through using PACS and VNA.

While medical professionals in larger urban areas often have the resources to implement PACS and VNA solutions, rural areas with fewer resources struggle to keep up, which means patient care can be less successful. Doctors in rural areas need the same storing and sharing opportunities as city doctors because the needs of the patients are the same. OffSite Image Management is focused on bringing these solutions to rural healthcare providers – giving them the opportunity to reach out and share their medical imaging with specialists in far-away places.