There is no question which method is most widely used in storing and sharing digital images – picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) lead the way. However, there is an upswing in the interest related to vendor neutral archiving (VNA) to meet image management needs.
A quick look at the statistics is very telling – less than six percent of images being stored today around the world are currently in VNAs, but the rate of adoption is going so fast that by 2016, it’s estimated that nearly 30 percent or more of the images being stored and shared will be through VNAs.
According to a report from KLAS last year, nearly 30 percent of healthcare providers are planning on including VNAs in their imaging solutions. What’s pushing this? One cannot look past healthcare reform issues that are currently the big talk across the U.S., but the efficiencies gained through adopting VNAs is also something that is pushing change.
What’s clear is that hospitals of all shapes and sizes are suited to many different PACS vendors. Not every size fits all, so depending on the scalability of the vendor’s PACS solution and the budget of the healthcare provider; each PACS will attract different clients. What is also clear is that image management across all these various PACS is creating some roadblocks to quality patient care.
Coordinating care shouldn’t be this difficult, which is why VNAs are gaining so much ground on traditional PACS. It’s estimated that because of the number of vendors out there and the difficulty in communicating between them, roughly a third of all medical images that are sent across departments or to different clinics or hospitals get hung up somewhere along the line. Without readable images, medical professionals are unable to carry out their duties.
The costs associated with medical images, both storing and sharing, are high. It’s estimated that the average hospital will spend up to $70,000 a year on the cost of transmitting their images. Most of that cost is associated with sending CDs. CD burning technology is not only expensive, it’s terribly inefficient. This is another reason that VNAs, which often operate in the cloud, are a more popular option for healthcare providers looking to cut some corners on cost while improving their send and receive medical imaging.
It’s important to make the distinction that VNAs aren’t just another cloud-based solution. The biggest difference is that VNAs are often maintained onsite because of the extra infrastructure involved. The best VNA providers will only use Level IV data centers to store the images. These data centers are the most secure in the industry, and security is not an area where healthcare providers are willing to skimp.
Image management should only be carried out by professionals with the highest level of technical knowledge and resources at their disposal. OffSite Image Management, Inc. knows the value of VNAs and has developed a solution of their own. OffSite uses multiple Level IV data centers that offer access to data every minute of every day. There are no limits to storage and there are no startup or migration fees.