Cloud-Native PACS Solution Consolidates Medical Imaging

A cloud-based software as a service (SaaS) platform provides radiology practices a comprehensive, zero-footprint Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) solution.

The Change Healthcare (Nashville, TN, USA) Stratus Imaging PACS is a suite of cloud-native solutions that include image archiving, analytics, universal viewers, and sharing solutions. By using a cloud-native architecture, healthcare providers and radiology practices will be able to eliminate cumbersome upgrades while improving security, return on investment (ROI), and the ability to advance patient care.

Change Healthcare also offers the Anatomical AI algorithm, available as an on-premise PACS solution for hospitals, which will be added to future releases of the Stratus Imaging cloud solution suite. The algorithm uses artificial intelligence (AI) to identify body regions using image pixel data, removing the barriers caused by inaccurate or incomplete metadata traditionally present within medical imaging. The information is then used to rapidly locate relevant studies based on the current exam, eliminating time spent on manual study searches and helping reduce the ordering of unnecessary studies.

“The move of medical imaging to the cloud and the use of AI to help improve clinical outcomes is inevitable and accelerating. We’re thrilled to be bringing a feature-rich, highly secure, zero-footprint cloud-native PACS and our natively built AI solutions to market,” said Tracy Byers, senior VP and general manager of enterprise imaging at Change Healthcare. “We remain focused on delivering cutting-edge, innovative imaging solutions that allow our customers to accelerate their digital transformation with confidence and immediately realize benefits that will continue to evolve for providers and patients over time.”

“We have worked with Change Healthcare for years and are excited to be development partners for their zero-footprint PACS,” said Eric Lacy, director of clinical applications at Central Illinois Radiology Associates (CIRA; East Peoria, IL, USA). “The speed of the viewer and the rich feature set struck me as truly game-changing from the moment I first saw it. I am truly looking forward to what the solution can do for CIRA, our partners, and our patients.”

SaaS is a centrally hosted software delivery model licensed on a subscription basis. A part of cloud computing, SaaS applications are not distributed physically, and initial setup cost is typically lower than the equivalent enterprise software. SaaS vendors typically price their applications based on some usage parameters, such as the number of users using the application. However, as customer data reside with the SaaS vendor, opportunities also exist to charge per transaction, event, or other units of value, such as the number of processors required.

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