Dear AuntMinnie Member,
Despite significant efforts over the years to develop standards such as DICOM, many experts remain profoundly disappointed with the PACS industry's level of adoption.
Consultant Michael J. Cannavo falls into this camp, and his dissatisfaction with the use of proprietary PACS archiving schemes is one of the topics covered in part two of his new editorial series, Building a Better PACS. Vendors' tendency to create their own storage models can complicate future data migration efforts. But the variations are likely to continue unless end users start demanding DICOM vendor-neutral archives, according to Cannavo.
The PACSman also takes issue with the varying nature of uptime guarantees, the bundling of hardware and software warranties, and flat-rate pricing. Click here for the latest edition of his Building a Better PACS series, or visit the PACS Digital Community at pacs.auntminnie.com.
Impact of U.S. stimulus bill
Many market watchers believe the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, signed by President Barack Obama on February 17, is likely to be a boon for increased adoption of healthcare information technology. Setting aside $20 billion in funding, authors of the legislation hope to make comprehensive electronic health records nearly ubiquitous within 10 years.
Staff writer Cynthia E. Keen provides the details of the act and what it means for healthcare IT in her article here.
In another story featured this week in our Healthcare IT Digital Community, wikis are increasingly being used in the workplace for fostering interactive and efficient collaboration. In radiology, these Web-based tools can be used to facilitate cost-effective service and support of increasingly complex IT applications, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore.
Learn more by clicking here or visiting our Healthcare IT Digital Community at healthcareit.auntminnie.com.
