The U.S. military has become one of the most advanced users of PACS technology, creating a worldwide digital network that can speed medical images from battlefields in Asia to healthcare facilities in the U.S. Now, the military is set to embark on the third stage of its Digital Imaging Network - PACS (DIN-PACS) program.
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) expects to begin awarding vendor contracts by the second quarter of 2011 for DIN-PACS III, which will have the same scope as the second phase of the project, DIN-PACS II: to provide DIN-PACS systems to all DoD facilities as well as some Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and other federal government facilities, according to Andrew Wechter, chief of the capital equipment division of the medical supply chain at Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support.
The DIN-PACS II program and the original DIN-PACS project have produced a virtually 100% digital environment for imaging within the DoD's medical facilities. And more than 800 orders have been issued so far under DIN-PACS II, including new and replacement systems, upgrades, and maintenance, Wechter said.
"I think the most important successes have been the successful deployment to all DoD peacetime medical treatment facilities, and the use of digital imaging with the Navy Fleet and deployed forces in Southwest Asia," Wechter told AuntMinnie.com.
It's too early to tell exactly how DIN-PACS III spending will compare with DIN-PACS II and the original DIN-PACS project. Spending varies from year to year and is dictated by the funding authorized in the military services' budgets, Wechter said. But given the full participation of the VA in DIN-PACS III, spending is likely to exceed previous levels.
"The VA has only been using the DIN-PACS II contracts for the past one to two years," he said.
DIN-PACS III contracts may be used to issue purchase orders for any federally funded medical facility. Both the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support and the VA National Acquisition Center in Hines, IL, will be able to place orders for any of their federal government customers, Wechter said.
"Orders may be issued for individual hospitals or for entire regions or [Veterans Integrated Service Networks]," Wechter told AuntMinnie.com. "Ultimately, the military services determine which facilities get funded for new or upgraded DIN-PACS in a given fiscal year based on budget and clinical priorities."
Depending on the needs of the specific customer, contracts will be used to purchase new and replacement systems, as well as upgrades to existing PACS, he said.
"Most DoD purchases are either replacements or upgrades," he said. "Vendors compete for specific customer requirements on an order-by-order basis."
One of the main goals of DIN-PACS II was to facilitate interconnectivity between military medical treatment facilities. That effort is still evolving and being implemented on a regional basis, Wechter said.
"I see these efforts continuing under DIN-PACS III as commercial systems are better able to support complete enterprise interconnectivity," he said.
Technical requirements for vendors to participate in DIN-PACS III are substantially the same as those in DIN-PACS II. They have, however, been updated to account for changes in commercial PACS over the past five years, Wechter said.
"As the commercial PACS marketplace has matured over the past five years, we've significantly reduced the size of the performance statement of work in our DIN-PACS III solicitation," he said. "We have eliminated those common features and performance requirements which most commercial vendors' systems routinely meet, and focused our efforts on other important issues required to install and operate a DIN-PACS within DoD."
Updated requirements for DoD Information Assurance and Information Security have also been included.
"The DoD requirements for Information Assurance and Security were updated to cite current DoD directives and instructions, including requirements for [DoD Information Assurance Certification and Accreditation Process (DIACAP)] and background checks on contractor employees requiring access to government networks to install or maintain DIN-PACS," he said. "The VA requirements for system security were [also] added to DIN-PACS III."
The DIN-PACS III technical review process for vendors is also very similar to the process used in DIN-PACS II, Wechter said.
Seven vendors received DIN-PACS II contracts: Agfa HealthCare of Greenville, SC; Carestream Health of Rochester, NY; Fujifilm Medical Systems USA of Stamford, CT; GE Healthcare of Chalfont St. Giles, U.K.; McKesson of Alpharetta, GA; Philips Healthcare of Andover, MA; and Siemens Healthcare of Malvern, PA. IBM was originally included, but the company no longer has a DIN-PACS II contract.
As DIN-PACS II winds down, the DoD has awarded bridge contracts to all seven existing DIN-PACS vendors to provide continued contract coverage until the new DIN-PACS III contracts can be awarded. The bridge contracts included up to $45 million for Agfa, up to $10 million for Carestream, $9 million for Fuji, and up to $6 million for Siemens.
By Erik L. Ridley
AuntMinnie.com staff writer
November 22, 2010
Related Reading
Siemens lands DIN-PACS contract, October 5, 2010
Agfa, Fuji get new DIN-PACS contracts, September 24, 2010
Fuji adds to Synapse, scores DIN-PACS II win, February 16, 2005
Agfa gets DIN-PACS II contract, October 21, 2004
Kodak gets DIN-PACS II approval, October 12, 2004
Copyright © 2010 AuntMinnie.com
