Hosted Software Image Management System Minimizes IT Investment

New "software as a service" solutions provide a cost-effective alternative for healthcare organizations looking to create a more efficient digital environment for patient images and information.

Merge Healthcare (Milwaukee, WI, USA), a medical imaging solutions provider, announced the addition of Fusion Hosted radiology information system/picture archiving and communication systems (RIS/PACS) and Fusion Hosted PACS solutions to its range of managed services. A pay-per-study model provides affordable and easy access to the newest releases of Merge Healthcare's prominent digital imaging software systems with minimal on-site information technology (IT) management of the system.

"Merge's Hosted RIS/PACS solution was by far the most flexible system in terms of integration with our custom enterprise system, and in method of payment," stated John Marion, president and CFO of Healthy Life Screening (Akron, OH, USA). "Not only do we have access to a truly integrated RIS/PACS, we have storage and recovery covered too--all three elements that are essential to our immediate needs and our needs as they pertain to the future of healthcare." Mr. Marion added, "Having eliminated our manual processes, we've already seen direct cost-savings in terms of faster turnarounds and in the accuracy of information retained within each patient record."

These Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act - (HIPAA)-compliant platforms store digital images and associated patient information on a secure, off-site server; and are accessible at any time from any hosted network computer. Merge Healthcare's imaging-focused IT specialists provide the implementation and 24/7 support of the Hosted RIS/PACS and PACS solutions, using proprietary technology for remote management of many tasks. An automatic failover and recovery option is also available to provide continual uptime and workflow productivity.

"I'm pleased that our customers are seeing immediate workflow improvements with the Fusion Hosted PACS and RIS/PACS," commented Nancy Koenig, president of Merge's Fusion division. "This cost-per-study hosted model makes a lot of sense for sites who cannot afford a full scale PACS or RIS/PACS installation on site, or who have limited IT staff to implement. It has shown to be a particularly attractive option for outpatient imaging centers, specialty clinics and rural hospitals."

These new solutions join Merge Healthcare's existing managed services: disaster recovery, which provides secure, off-site data storage and recovery services in the event of disaster or unplanned downtime; and remote system monitoring, which provides 24/7 performance monitoring of many imaging system components to optimize system performance and minimize downtime.

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Merge Healthcare