Top 10 Questions to Ask PACS Vendors at RSNA 2005

What differentiates your product from vendor B's product?

1. Server approach, including database management
2. Archive approach
   1. Short term
   2. Long term
   3. Disaster recovery (database and image)
3. Diagnostic workstation software, including specialized software
   1. What software is standard and what are options? Cost? Internally, does it offer us the features we need at a price we can afford?
4. Web approach, network security
5. Licensing agreements (concurrent or per device?)
6. Service (remote and onsite)
   1. What is and isn't included? (upgrades, updates, etc.)
7. Anything proprietary about the system design?

Can we purchase the hardware directly and pay you for software and software integration including RIS integration? Will you certify performance by allowing us to meet specifications or allow us to use other third-party vendors in the system design? What are the costs? Trade-offs?

Please demonstrate on your diagnostic workstation the way a radiologist would typically read a:

1. Multislice CT -- Please show all advanced image processing.
2. MRI -- Please show all advanced image processing.
3. US (including color-flow Doppler, plus audio and waveforms, if/as applicable) -- Measurements?
4. NM (including color)
5. Two-view and four-view chest
6. Prior report viewing on the diagnostic workstation
7. Report dictation and sign-off on the diagnostic workstation (third party)
8. Integration of voice recognition (if/as applicable)

Please show us an implementation plan you have done for a facility with a system designed close to ours, with breakouts for prestaging, shipping, installation, training, etc. Outline how many people will be there for how long, doing what tasks, etc., and how you came up with the associated costs.

How many interfaces have you done with our RIS vendor and version, and what have the challenges been that you've experienced in doing the interface? What was the time to do it? What were the requirements from everyone (RIS vendor, PACS vendor, facility, etc.)? Costs?

Bring a copy of the vendor's proposal and ask the following questions:

1. What could you delete without impacting performance?
2. What would you add that might give us added performance? At what cost?

How willing are you to negotiate a contract on our terms? What is and isn't considered unmovable relating to terms and conditions? If we mutually agree upon both the requirements and definitions, will you accept penalties for not meeting an installation deadline? Nonperformance?

Please share your two-, three-, and five-year PACS and global imaging product road map. (Nondisclosures will probably be required.)

What are we (our facility) required to do to make this project a success? Changes, upgrades, etc.

Why should we buy from you? Why shouldn't we buy from vendor B?