A Radiology PACS System That Works Efficiently
Are you asking your PACS to do too much? It’s a common occurrence for radiologist
specialists and IT personnel. But there is a way around it. You need to start focusing on a plan to take archiving out of your radiology PACS system.
If you have been a medical IT professional for 10 or more years, you can attest to the improvements that PACS brought to the industry when they first exploded onto the scene. However, the landscape has definitely changed, and what was a game changer 10 or 15 years ago doesn’t do the job any longer. What has emerged to assist in improving the situation is vendor neutral archiving (VNA), that by now most radiologists and IT specialists have become familiar with, but not everyone has yet implemented.
Most PACS are built to archive images for three to five years. However, if a medical system experiences growth and needs to upgrade to a new PACS system, the migration process can be quite cumbersome, especially given the fact that all PACS have their own internal formats. This is something that features of VNA attempt to remedy.
The Beauty of VNA
With lightening speed, VNA is capable of handling data from vendors as it’s stationed between the modalities and the PACS. The VNA simply forwards data to the PACS as well as the appropriate priors. VNA specializes in decoupling the PACS and the workstations at the archival layer. Radiology PACS needs this type of functionality so that it can communicate between disparate systems.
What the best vendors are utilizing today is cloud-based technology to take archiving out of the radiology PACS system. This has many advantages, not the least of which is the elimination of CD burning technology, which for years has been the way providers share information between departments and other providers. When archiving in the cloud, all anyone needs to view the images is a secure URL.
Taking Advantage of the Cloud
Organizations in just about every industry are realizing the power of the cloud, in cost savings, functionality and performance. For the healthcare industry, the cloud is giving providers a way to improve their radiology PACS system and improve patient care. Furthermore, rural providers are finally getting a solution they can afford without having to sacrifice quality.
A Solution for the Rural Provider
Critical care hospitals number around 2,000 throughout the U.S. These are almost always in rural areas where budgets are small and personnel resources are slim. Image exchanges are being implemented to give these providers access to top-notch technology and archiving services that don’t break the bank.
OffSite Image Management, Inc., is a company that specializes in serving the underserved. Our solutions are custom made for facilities of all sizes, but have been very successful for rural providers who have for years struggled to keep up with regulations regarding healthcare data, including how to archive it, access it, and share it with others. For more information about our solutions, contact us today.