Health Imaging & IT - February 2008 - (Page 23)

The “install and forget” ASP model is a good fit for Yavapai Medical Center. Today, the center completes 112,000 imaging studies annually and stores radiology and cardiac catheterization lab datasets in the 6 terabyte (TB) archive. The IT oversight and management burden is comparably light; InSite One proactively monitors the medical center’s storage needs. When the archive approaches the high water mark, an InSite One representative simply phones Munday to make arrangements to increase storage, sparing the PACS administrator the burden of monitoring storage. Tapping into the benefits of standardization Universal Health Services, Inc. (UHS), a publicly owned hospital system headquartered in King of Prussia, Penn., aimed for standardization among its 23 geographically dispersed acutecare hospitals when it turned to online image management. The rationale was two-pronged, says Bruce Marcolongo, manager, information services. “[With a standard system], we could better drive PACS functionality with the vendor and also leverage our internal user group to develop imaging tips and address support issues.” UHS selected GE Healthcare Centricity IW, and in the last two years, deployed the web-centric system in eight facilities. In addition to meeting its initial goals, UHS has realized additional benefits. “We’ve avoided the limitations of client-server based architecture and implemented a fully web-centric system to provide immediate access to images throughout and beyond our hospitals,” explains Marcolongo. Consequently, UHS hospitals running Centricity IW report improved turnaround time and lower costs. The cost savings are multi-faceted. Legacy client-server PACS carried licensing and upgrade costs as well as higher maintenance bills. Centricity IW, on the other hand, offers a volume-based model. If imaging volume remains flat at 100,000 studies annually at one site, PACS costs stay fixed. But if volume increases to 120,000 studies at another site, the hospital pays more and also profits more with the increased volume, says Marcolongo. The IT structure meets UHS’ needs as well. For starters, Centricity IW incorporates SSL encryption to provide reliable security. And the system adapts to a server virtualization model used by one UHS site. Under this model, the hospital can reduce its physical server burden by using software to virtually imitate hardware and divide a single server into isolated environments. The single modality solution Robert D. Russo and Associates Radiology in Norwalk, Conn., is an established radiology practice with eight offices in southern Connecticut. Four years ago, the practice began deploying digital mammography. At the time, the practice had not yet implemented PACS. In addition, the ability to integrate digital mammograms Questions to Ask As cash-strapped imaging facilities wrangle with the challenges of ever-increasing image volumes and fast access times, it’s wise to weight all options. ✓ Analyze the facility’s situation, says John Munday, RIS/PACS Administrator at Yavapai Medical Center in Prescott, Ariz. Does it have the structure, infrastructure or support necessary to streamline image management and storage? “Sites should understand the total cost of ownership for any online image management solution,” adds David Grandchamp, director of information systems, at Robert D. Russo and Associates Radiology in Norwalk, Conn. Some solutions require a one-time storage/retrieval fee; others use a per-click charge each time a study is accessed. ✓ Don’t overlook the obsolescence factor. On one hand, storage is getting cheaper, and most hospitals are equipped with IT staff and infrastructure; however, storage is growing obsolete at a maddening pace, translating into near-constant upgrades. An online provider can handle scalability and obsolescence by adding terabytes and upgrades as needed. ✓ Know the practice’s volumes and bandwidth requirements. Find out if radiologists can wait a few minutes for retrieval or if they need it in seconds. ✓ Consider an off-hours, pre-fetch system. It lowers the bandwidth requirements and may suffice for some practices, says Grandchamp. ✓ Make sure the ASP provider markets a true DICOM archive and can connect to all PACS, says Munday. ✓ Be sure to check into data migration processes and requirements of various systems under consideration. ✓ Consider all users in the selection process. Radiologists may be the primary users, but solid, rapid image access for referring physicians can grow the business, says Bruce Marcolongo, manager, information services, at Universal Health Services, Inc., in King of Prussia, Pa. Make sure the image management model meets the needs of referring physicians. HealthImaging.com February 2008 | Health Imaging & IT 23 http://HealthImaging.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Health Imaging & IT - February 2008

Health Imaging & IT - February 2008 Contents On the Web The Enterprise News Update Cover Story: Enterprise Image Management Makes the Grade Modality Update Special Section: Health IT: Image Management Special Section: Health IT: PCs on the Move Convention Spotlight Technology Outlook Technology Update Reader's Resource Stat Sheet

Health Imaging & IT - February 2008

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