The arrival of application service provider (ASP) models in PACS will be a strong catalyst for broader acceptance of digital image management, say market watchers. Hoping to spur PACS purchasing among small- and medium-sized hospitals, GE Medical Systems is rapidly moving its ASP product to market.
"As we began to reach further in PACS into the mid-tier and lower end of the marketplace, we were encountering more capital constraints and a lack of talented [information technology] staff," according to GE's vice president and general manager of e-commerce and ASP services, Milton Silva-Craig. "They didn’t have the resources and people to put PACS in place."
In response, GE has been assembling an ASP program, which, like others, allows customers to outsource much of the hardware and software required to run a digital image management network.
For example, prospective purchasers will be able to move all long-term archiving off-site, leaving behind only GE's RadWorks diagnostic and clinical review workstations, along with a short-term archive. Sites with low imaging volume -- typically less than 25,000 procedures per year -- can get by using the hard drives on their workstations, while facilities with higher numbers of studies will likely require a small DICOM-compliant archive to meet short-term storage requirements, Silva-Craig said.
In the ASP model, images to be stored off-site are compressed, encrypted, and routed to the off-site data center over a virtual private network (VPN), ensuring secure data transfer. When requesting access, users are authenticated before entry to the database is granted, Silva-Craig said.
GE's ASP customers will be able to pay for the service on a per-use model, avoiding the hefty capital expenditures typically associated with a PACS purchase. Pricing will be as low as $5 per study for long-term storage and Web-based access. The cost will increase depending on the need for added functionality and on-site services, including hardware and software, Silva-Craig said.
In addition to the lower costs of ASP installations, the risk of obsolescence is removed, as much of the hardware and software remains under the vendor's control.
"With an ASP, you get instant scalability," Silva-Craig said.
GE plans to initially offer four basic applications via the ASP model: remote storage of radiology images; Web-based access to images and reports; GE's Muse EKG image management system; and security services, Silva-Craig said.
In the past few months, the Waukesha, WI-based vendor has forged a number of alliances to provide components of the ASP service. On July 18, GE announced a relationship with security management firm Internet Security Systems, which will provide managed security services for the ASP network infrastructure. The Atlanta-based firm’s security services will allow GE to address the pending Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations, according to GE. It will provide continuous network traffic monitoring, ensure information confidentiality, and prevent intentional system misuse, according to the firm.
In late June, GE signed a deal with data storage firm EMC of Hopkinton, MA. EMC agreed to provide GE with the information infrastructure to support the ASP model, including a 40-terabyte RAID array. A few weeks earlier, GE entered into a relationship with Emageon, in which the Birmingham, AL-based firm will provide its e-CIMS Web-based enterprise-archive software to handle large-scale image storage.
GE's ASP data center -- where all images stored under the ASP model will be archived -- will be run by Internet data center hosting firm Exodus Communications of Santa Clara, CA. GE will have dedicated space reserved at Exodus to support the ASP service, Silva-Craig said.
GE’s first pilot site for the service is the University of Missouri, which will go live in early August, he said. Two other sites, one for radiology and one for Muse, have signed letters of intent to serve as pilot sites, and will launch ASP services before the end of July, he said.
Ultimately, GE expects to have five pilot sites up and running before the ASP's general release, targeted for the end of August. In the future, GE plans to also offer radiology information system (RIS) capability via the ASP service, as well as add advanced image processing applications such as 3-D, Silva-Craig said.
GE will also work with EMC to expand the ASP model to support a complete patient data repository, encompassing more than just radiology images and reports, Silva-Craig said.
RIS functionality is targeted for availability at the beginning of the fourth quarter, while advanced applications will likely be demonstrated at the 2000 RSNA meeting and released in the first quarter of 2001, he said. Implementation of a patient data repository is planned for the first half of 2001.
By Erik L. Ridley
AuntMinnie.com staff writer
July 19, 2000
Related Reading
PACS veteran offers real-world lessons to PACS implementation, July 3, 2000.
New HIPAA rules portend sweeping changes in medical data security, June 27, 2000.
GE forms alliance with EMC, June 26, 2000.
GE to offer Howtek digitizers, June 15, 2000.
Applicare unveils RadWorks 5.1, June 12, 2000.
Emageon signs deal with GE, June 2, 2000.
Algotec pursues ASP model in bid for PACS market success, May 2, 2000.
