About a third of the U.S. hospital market has adopted a vendor neutral archive (VNA) solution, according to an imaging IT study published by the healthcare technology research and advisory firm CapSite.
CapSite--based on input from 415 hospitals from around the country--found that an additional 19 percent of hospitals plan to introduce a new VNA solution within the next two years.
According to CapSite, one-third of the hospitals that have invested in a VNA did so to achieve economies of scale across multiple service areas such as radiology and cardiology. Another 30 percent implemented a VNA in order to have additional independent storage capacity in case of a change of PACS vendors, while another 26 percent invested in a VNA as part of a broader IT strategy, such as the implementation of an electronic medical record.
Of those hospitals that haven't purchased a new VNA solution, 55 percent reported they had no need for one at this time, 22 percent said that they already had a VNA that met their needs, and 9 percent said cost was a factor.
Hospitals were also asked to name their top imaging priorities as they relate to Meaningful Use Stage 2 criteria. The top three priorities were updating imaging equipment, updating PACs, and expanding clinical applications such as advanced visualization (AV).
Forty-two percent of respondents said they had already purchased an AV solution, while 47 percent said they planned to purchase an AV solution or upgrade their current solution in the next two years.
When asked to evaluate the most important driver of an advanced visualization purchase, 33 percent said they wanted to take advantage of AV applications, 24 percent said their physicians were demanding new AV technology, 22 percent said they were expanding client-service architecture to expand the use of AV, while another 14 percent said they needed AV to stay competitive.
Also, 27 percent of the respondents said they planned to incorporate a mobile imaging strategy across their organizations.
To learn more:
- see the CapSite announcement
- see the report table of contents