VNA and PACS: the answers to the effective management of health data in exponential growth

Health systems are generating more patient data than ever. With the progression of diseases, the “data footprint” of each patient increases over time, increasing the total amount of data that must be managed by the corresponding agencies (mainly health care providers).

Large amounts of data are inherently difficult to manage, but large amounts of data also mean better analytical results can be achieved, which is necessary to drive lower costs and better patient outcomes. Consequently, there is a high demand for data management platforms in healthcare and related industries to efficiently store, retrieve, consolidate, and display data.

A vendor neutral archive (VNA) is an integral component of modern health data management. A VNA is a storage solution software that can store images, documents, and other clinically relevant files in a standard format with a standard interface.

Data stored on a VNA can be freely accessed by other systems, regardless of the manufacturers of those systems. This interoperability is a hallmark of any VNA system. The term “Neutral” in the VNA acronym has huge implications as it makes the data stored in VNA platform independent. VNAs facilitate the exchange of data throughout the health care system, facilitating communication between departments. They allow medical imaging specialists to use software that integrates images with the EHR to help make better-informed diagnoses.

A VNA can also help make data more secure. VNAs that use cloud-based storage may offer better recovery options than a local-only solution. Even if local files are damaged or destroyed, the data remains intact in a secure location via a cloud server.

Another hidden benefit of VNAs is reduced administrative costs. Fewer systems and fewer access points mean less overhead for the IT department. And there’s no need to migrate data when systems are upgraded or replaced, a procedure that can be resource-intensive. VNAs potentially offer lower storage costs, compared to separate PACS systems, also across the healthcare system. VNAs can use information lifecycle management applications to automatically move older data to less expensive long-term storage, keeping only the most frequently used data on higher-cost, faster-access media.

The implementation of a VNA is a major change in the operating procedures of a health system. This change can uncover a multitude of opportunities to increase efficiency, streamline workflows, and reduce costs.

PACS

Modern diagnostic practices generate an enormous amount of images and pictorial data. PACS stands for Picture Archive and Communication System. The main goal of PACS is to simplify the management of images related to patient follow-up throughout treatment and recovery. Modern radiology practices involve digital imaging. Therefore, for the purposes of interoperability, a standard is required, which is identified by all interested parties and accepted as a norm.

Case in point is DICOM, which stands for Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine. PACS that adhere to DICOM standards are more suitable for accommodating digital image data generated through medical devices purchased from different vendors. In other words, DICOM-compliant PACS have better interoperability and broader coverage for storing and processing different types of digital images generated through various medical procedures.

Conventional benefits of PACS include elimination of duplicates, rapid access to patient images and reports, remote sharing of patient data and reports within an organization or with other organizations, and timeline of results. of radiology of the patients, to facilitate the comparison with previous studies in the same or other patients.

THE BEST BUSINESS IMAGE STRATEGY: WHAT FITS YOUR NEEDS

With a multitude of vendors offering enterprise image management systems, it becomes difficult to make the best decision. Every organization is different in terms of organizational hierarchy, as well as the type of network used for communication and financial constraints. Consequently, the requirements for enterprise imaging solutions for each of these will be different, and no single vendor can meet all of these demands.

GE Healthcare and Philips offer some of the most exciting PACS solutions. These two vendors have the unique distinction of having a global clientele and providing enterprise file-focused strategies. An enterprise archive refers to long-term storage to manage and collect data from multiple imaging departments.

If the organization’s needs are more VNA-centric, then vendors with exclusive VNA expertise should be considered. An example of an expert focused on VNA would be Agfa. Agfa provides enterprise-grade VNA solutions for handling DICOM and non-DICOM data.

Regardless of the size of your facility or the number of patients you come into contact with, image storage is a necessity as clinicians require seamless access to your images. As a general rule of thumb, it is imperative to say that any large organization with departments dedicated to various diagnostic imaging (or at least one dedicated radiology department) should have a PACS system. If there are no financial constraints, a hybrid system incorporating VNA and PACS should be used for cloud-based storage. Hybrid systems with cloud-based storage are considered one of the most efficient modalities in enterprise image management today.