Cloud PACS: What to Know
Medical images are becoming increasingly more common in the healthcare industry. Technology has given providers more ways to look into the human body, which is good for the health of the patient, but causes some challenges for healthcare IT. As files get larger and more numerous, cloud PACS are increasingly becoming the new way to store them.
Healthcare providers need to have their medical images at the ready, anytime and anywhere. This means they need to be electronically accessible, which is not something traditional PACS can always handle. In fact, many legacy PACS are being asked to handle more than what they were built to do. From administrators to nurses to radiologists and surgeons – gaining access to medical imaging, regardless of location, is becoming a higher priority, and cloud PACS are stepping up to deliver more functionality and availability.
As you know, on-premise solutions have been the only PACS offering until recently. These PACS came at a larger cost and required IT expertise, physical space and constant care to keep them running. As cloud solutions began to dominate the landscape, the healthcare industry was slow to react, mainly because of privacy concerns. However, those concerns are now far fewer, especially considering that CD burning technology, which many providers continue to use, represents far greater risks.
The biggest difference between cloud PACS and traditional PACS is that cloud PACS doesn’t require providers to expend great amounts of money on capital investments and IT staff. Instead, the provider houses all the technology, software and IT staff to manage the solution. With all your data being stored off site, you also gain greater disaster recovery. With all your data being stored off site, you also gain greater disaster recovery assurances.
With a traditional PACS, if something like a fire were to occur, your data would go up in flames. Cloud PACS vendors often utilize multiple data centers spread across a large geographical location, which means your data is duplicated and always available, regardless of what natural or un-natural disaster strikes. The clear advantage of SaaS is immediately apparent once providers shed their old technology and implement the new. They see more efficiency, cost savings, better patient care and less risk associated with compromised patient data. Furthermore, IT staff can spend more time on other healthcare systems that are less labor intensive, yet important to the hospital/clinic/etc.
Rural providers are increasingly becoming accustomed to the benefits of the cloud PACS available today. With limited budgets and personnel resources for IT needs, rural providers are getting hooked up to PACS in the cloud and saving money while improving the services they provide patients. OffSite Image Management, Inc., is a proud supporter of rural providers. Our solutions are a perfect fit for healthcare facilities that have historically been burdened by a lack of resources. While our solutions are cost-effective, there is no skimping on quality. We’re an industry leader in what we provide – cloud PACS solutions that improve the way medicine is delivered today.