The enterprise imaging strategy: summary reportblog.agfahealthcare.com/.../WP...REPORT_GB_3_pages.pdf · The KLAS report focusses on 92 multi-facility organizations that are indeed

From a siloed environment to a collaborative, interoperable model

Medical imaging is evolving from a radiology-

centric, siloed environment towards a model offering

interoperability, on-demand, sharing, viewing,

collaboration and storage of increasingly varied and

sophisticated imaging datasets.

Many organizations are using vendor neutral archives

(VNAs), universal viewers, image exchanges or other

technology associated with enterprise imaging to

answer these demands; however, this is rarely within a

defined enterprise imaging strategy.

The KLAS report focusses on 92 multi-facility

organizations that are indeed using the solutions for

true enterprise imaging.

The research uncovered two main paths to implementing

an enterprise imaging strategy: a centralized approach

around the VNA, and a federated approach around the

universal viewer. The role of image exchange in the

enterprise imaging strategy was also considered.

KLAS asked respondents about the performance of

specific vendors on a wide range of indicators: vendors

included in the research were Agfa HealthCare, Dell

Services, Fujifilm, GE Healthcare, Lexmark HealthCare,

lifeIMAGE and Merge.

Overall, Agfa HealthCare was identified as one of the

vendors with a more comprehensive enterprise imaging

solution.

“Enterprise imaging—the ability to store, view, and exchange images from multiple service lines— promises to

revolutionize the imaging landscape. Yet many providers are still uncertain as to how to move forward. To add much-

needed context, KLAS conducted targeted interviews with 92 providers who have a clear enterprise imaging strategy

to find out how these early adopters are moving forward and how well vendors perform in an enterprise imaging

setting.”

*Agfa HealthCare promotion based off KLAS report “ENTERPRISE IMAGING 2015: STRATEGIES, OPTIONS, AND VENDOR PERFORMANCE”, December 2015

The enterprise imaging strategy: summary report

Some 41% of the respondents are building their enterprise imaging strategy around a centralized VNA, which offers

advantages in reduced costs, deeper interoperability between service lines, improved care coordination and no need for

data migration. With the VNA as the base, image exchange, a universal viewer, workflow tools (such as an enterprise

worklist) and other layers can be added.

Radiology and cardiology are very often the first “service lines”, or departments, to be connected to the VNA. This is due

both to the high volume of images generated, and also because the PACS workflow in the radiology department allows

the VNA to be used as part of a process that is very similar to the healthcare provider’s long-term enterprise imaging

architecture.

Other service lines that have been connected (at a much lower occurrence) include gastroenterology, dermatology,

ophthalmology, pathology, obstetrics, angiography, rheumatology, dental, ultrasound, and oncology. According to the

KLAS report, Agfa HealthCare has the most service lines connected, as well as the deepest adoption outside of radiology

and cardiology.

A centralized, VNA-based approach

WHAT ROLE DOES YOUR PRIMARY PACS VENDOR PLAY

IN YOUR CURRENT ENTERPRISE IMAGING STRATEGY?

“We have cardiology connected to the VNA, and we are

now starting to connect the GI lab. We have ultrasounds

from the ER and the floors. We are able to plug essentially

anything into the VNA. Agfa HealthCare has done a very

good job over the years of connecting to just about

anything. It doesn’t take days or special coding to make

it happen. They did their homework on connectivity up

front and are very good at it.”

The second main approach involves building a strategy

around a universal viewer, which allows improved

efficiency through easy integration of enterprise imaging

into the EMR/clinician workflow, as well as the ability to

see images.

This approach can offer flexibility, opportunities for

improved clinician collaboration, web-based options

supporting off-site reading, and easier upgrading. Both

referential and diagnostic viewers are now on the

market; most of the healthcare providers included in

the research use their viewer in a referential capacity,

although many hope to expand into diagnostic use

in the future. Agfa HealthCare offers an FDA - cleared

diagnostic viewer.

While radiology and cardiology are again very often the

first service lines connected, there are fewer “other”

service lines being connected within the federated

approach. Agfa HealthCare again is noted for its presence

in more service lines, as well as for the ease of integrating

its viewer technology into the EMR, regardless of vendor.

The federated approach around the universal viewer

WHAT BENEFITS HAVE YOU REALIZED FROM THIS PRODUCT ?

[UNIVERSAL VIEWER]

“For the most part, having Agfa Healthcare’s XERO Viewer is an

avenue to viewing images. From an enterprise-wide standpoint,

providers basically work within their clinical systems and their

local PACS on cache. Areas like ophthalmology and dermatology

have a more robust tool set to work off of. But our enterprise

viewer does what we need it to do. We were told that Agfa

HealthCare is going to come out with some new tool sets down

the road. For the most part, XERO Viewer does a good job.”

Image exchange and workflow solutions in the enterprise imaging strategy

Image exchange and workflow solutions are less common, but

are being implemented as part of enterprise imaging strategies,

with a number of organizations intending to go live shortly.

Image exchange is particularly significant, as it supports the

improvement of the continuity of care by enabling image

exchange between clinicians at different locations and

organizations. Nonetheless, few of the healthcare enterprises

interviewed are currently using an image exchange solution.

Workflow solutions are also recognized as a key area. However,

the healthcare providers do not feel they are “far enough along”

to consider at the moment. Several hope their PACS/RIS will be

sufficient for workflow in the short-term, while acknowledging

some hesitation about this approach when looking beyond the

next few years.

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Published by

Agfa HealthCare Corporation

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WHAT BENEFITS HAVE YOU REALIZED FROM THIS

[WORKFLOW] PRODUCT?

“What differentiates Agfa from other vendors is that

they consider each department, what modalities

are in the department, what the workflow is, what

devices are used, taking that piece by piece for the

GI lab, ophthalmology department, endocrinology

department, wound care department and creating

solutions based on how those departments work. Other

vendors just give their customers a VNA, and then the

customers have to figure out how to hook it up to the

different departments.”