Vendor Neutral Archives Offer Shelter From Oncoming Image Management Storm

A deluge of imaging data is coming, and for providers that will mean a new approach to health IT and data storage. At the center of this approach is a model where providers take back control of storage through the implementation of a vendor neutral archive (VNA), according to a presentation Aug. 13 at the 40th annual meeting of AHRA: the Association for Medical Imaging Management.

Currently, applications own data, said Chris Tomlinson, MBA, of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. When a provider chooses a PACS, they are locked in to that vendor, which can make it difficult to switch vendors, add applications or share data between applications. If the provider wants to upgrade or switch vendors, it also requires a costly data migration process.

This model will be strained by the ever increasing amounts of imaging data that providers need to store. Tomlinson pointed to the increasing file sizes of images, as well as the fact that for a true enterprise imaging strategy, imaging data from orthopedics, surgery, urology, neurology and a number of other “’ologies” will need to be integrated and follow radiology’s lead...