Radiology Workflow (RIS) will enhance future PACS growth

By John Norman, CEO, medQ, Inc.
The latest news tells us that the future for the PACS market is bright with double digit growth expanding into more specialities in healthcare.

The continued growth of PACS over the next 5 years is definitely a positive trend.  Going with PACS may be the quick hit to save money by moving imaging to a digital world and cutting film costs.  Some productivity gains will be achieved by moving to a PACS environment, however, the major gains in productivity and efficiency cannot be achieved by having a PACS by itself.  True savings will only be achieved if the PACS is part of a fully integrated workflow.  The integration of a PACS with a strong workflow management/RIS program is the real driver of productivity.  Also, with the need to connect, capture and communicate information (not just data) and decision support tools, a PACS must be a part of a complete solution to enable enterprises to achieve the real savings in financial terms and increase patient care.  This is part of the Meaningful Use initiative.  It is the workflow and information that is critical to full patient care.

This type of fully integrated solution is the driver and enterprises selecting a PACS must ensure their solution is comprehensive.  This is even more important in making a decision about selecting a SAS or hosted solution.  There are many providers of “cloud” PACS storage solutions, but only a handful that contain the capability to manage the full front end workflow and create and distribute final reports and even less that are voice recognition enabled.  When selecting your hosted PACS make sure they can make your entire workflow digital and compliant with the need to connect, capture and communicate all the information for you and for your referring physician base.