Technological upgrades offer plenty of potential to improve medical service provision across entire facilities, but it’s all brought to fruition through a PACS.
Picture Archiving and Communications Systems (PACS) consolidate patient information into comprehensive databases that can be accessed by all relevant authorities. The centralized databases allow for easy access to information, reduce the need for paperwork, and also help establish communications between patients and doctors.
You’ll find plenty of PACS software in the market, and it’s challenging to choose which one is the best for your medical facility. Each medical facility has different data requirements and, therefore, unique demands from their PACS. Identifying your needs and choosing the right PACS solution in light of these needs is crucial if you want to exploit the potential offered by these fully.
This blog discusses some considerations when you’re deciding on which PACS is the best for you.
1. What is Your Scale of Operations?
As with all databases, there is a storage limit to the number of images or information you can store on these. You can opt between workstation, web-based, and cloud-hosted PACS depending on your storage needs.
Workstation-based PACS are the cheapest options offering at most 4TBs of space, while cloud-based PACS offer the highest storage space with data recovery options as well.
2. Is the Vendor HIPAA Compliant?
All hospital facilities must maintain data in a HIPAA compliant storage set-up to prevent the loss and compromise of private patient history. According to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), all hospitals must implement the most stringent security and data protection measures or risk legal/financial penalties.
3. Does the Vendor Allow for Scalability?
There’s no telling when your scale of operations increase. As such, the ideal vendor should offer flexibility to let you scale up your operations with minimal disruptions in service provision. You should keep in mind that patient influx varies over time and across the year— in these situations, flexible operations are the only way to keep costs at optimal levels.
4. Is the Platform Easy to Use?
Different PACS systems offer different UI/UX options. You should see if your potential vendor has a user-friendly PACS which can make the users’ lives easier. The PACS should let you drag thumbnails, provide easy access your files, and shouldn’t be overly complex.. After all, what’s the point of using technology that’s too difficult to operate altogether?
5. Does the Vendor Offer Quick Technical Support?
If your PACS does break down or malfunction, you’ll need fast tech support to sort it out. The risk of losing crucial diagnostic data and patient histories extends to possibly disrupting your operations for a long period of time. As such, your vendor must always be on their toes to rectify any problems with your PACS and must be dependable to manage any technical difficulties whenever needed.
ExamVue is a provider of digital image solutions for healthcare facilities. We offer digital X-ray detectors, X-ray imaging viewing software and Examvue PACS software for orthopedists, podiatrist and imaging facilities. Speak with us today for more information on our products.
