Implementation and Benefits of a Vendor-Neutral Archive and Enterprise-Imaging Management System in an Integrated Delivery Network

Abstract

The use of digital imaging has substantially grown in recent decades, in traditional services, new specialties, and departments. The need to share these data among departments and caregivers necessitated central archiving systems that are able to communicate with various viewing applications and electronic medical records. This promoted the development of modern vendor neutral archive (VNA) systems. The need to aggregate and share imaging data from various departments promoted the development of enterprise-imaging (EI) solutions that replace departmental silos of data with central healthcare enterprise databases. To describe the implementation process of a VNA-EI solution in a large health system and its outcomes. We review the background of VNA and EI solutions development and describe the characteristics and advantages of such systems. We then describe our experience in implementation of these solutions in a large integrated healthcare delivery network in northeast Ohio. We then present the process, challenges, costs, advantages, and outcomes of such implementation. The VNA and EI solution was launched in December 2015 and is still ongoing. It currently includes 54 radiology and 26 cardiology sites affiliated with the University Hospitals health system. This process was associated with more than 10% cost savings, 30% reduction in storage costs, superior support for disaster recovery, and 80% decrease in unscheduled outages. All these were achieved despite a 120% increase in archive retrieval needs and a 40% growth in image production. Implementation of a VNA and EI solution was successful and resulted in numerous measurable and qualitative improvements in a large and growing health system.

Artificial Intelligence in Pathology: From Prototype to Product

“…[ 42 ] Such VNAs greatly facilitate sharing image data between departments and reduce maintenance costs by consolidating multiple storage systems into a single central solution. [ 43 ] A recent publication provides guidance on the use of VNAs in pathology. [ 42 ]…”

Enterprise imaging and big data: A review from a medical physics perspective

“…This growth came out of a need to share imaging data between departments, hospitals, and caregivers in a less complex fashion requiring a less onerous interface or integration implementations and facilitating easier and less costly future expansions. In addition, the incorporation of other image data types, such as those found in ophthalmology where the DICOM standard was not as well developed further drove the development of VNAs towards a true enterprise imaging ecosystem [9]. EI governance is becoming increasingly important in healthcare enterprises.…”

“…This does not just change the financial outlay but there is also a reduction in the number of contacts and contracts which reduce workload and increase efficiency. Sirota-Cohen et al cited a 31.5% reduction in storage costs alone for one university hospital that merged three departments into one single VNA and a 10-15% overall decline in costs due to reductions in maintenance, supports and service contracts [9].…”

“…While this typically requires up-front investment to standardize these data, that process should be part of an effective, well-planned EI implementation. Unifying the management of imaging data both within radiology as well as in image-producing specialties outside of radiology can reap benefits in operational efficiency, decreased liability (secondary to improved patient safety), and an eventual return on investment [3,9].…”

“…As has been discussed, there are many advantages to implementation of EI, especially within an IDN. Sirota-Cohen et al [9] observed a decrease in care delivery cost, image storage cost, and unscheduled outages, as well as an increase in disaster recovery support, all in the setting of increased imaging volumes and need for retrieval of images from the archive. However, they rightly note that achieving these cost savings and increased performance required an organizational strategic plan, migration of both DICOM and non-DICOM data into a centralized archive, and investment in hardware, software, and maintenance.…”