ESC
Awarded Picture Archiving and Communications System
(PACS) Performance Assessment and Gap Analysis
by Department of Veterans Affairs
Fairfax,
Va. - The Department of Veterans Affairs
has selected Edmond Scientific Company (ESC) to
conduct an independent performance assessment
and gap analysis comparing the VistARAD
Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS)
with commercial PACS currently in use within the
Veterans Health Administration.
The
contract by the VHA's Performance Analysis Center
for Excellence calls for ESC to compare the efficiency
of VistARAD, a PACS
developed by the VHA beginning in 1996, with commercially
competitive PACS currently operating at VHA health
care facilities.
The
analysis performed by ESC will be used to benchmark
VistARAD's functionality and performance against
various commercial systems. By establishing this
benchmark, the VHA can then determine the optimal
strategy for the VistARAD system. Under consideration
is the continued development and standardization
of VistARAD, or the phasing out of VistARAD in
favor of standardizing one or several commercial
systems.
The
goal of the VistARAD project was to provide an
affordable system, owned by VHA and serviced by
VHA personnel. However, because VistARAD was not
mandated and commercial PACS have increased in
affordability, there is currently a mix of PACS
within the VHA, as well as some VHA facilities
that have yet to adopt PACS.
A
PACS electronically captures images from all imaging
modalities, including x-rays, CT, MRI, ultrasound,
and nuclear medicine, and transmits them to a
digital archive. This allows images to be distributed
electronically and interpreted on computer workstations,
thereby eliminating waiting periods for film images
to be processed, analyzed or delivered. The benefits
of this system are especially significant for
OR and ER cases, where immediate decisions are
crucial.
The
VHA is comprised of 21 integrated
networks incorporating 158 hospitals, 854 ambulatory
care and community-based outpatient clinics, 206
Vet Centers, 132 nursing homes, 42 residential
rehabilitation treatment programs and 88 comprehensive
home care programs. More than 4.8 million people
received health care at VHA facilities in 2003.
Further
information about this project or ESC,
please Contact us at 703.766.3871.
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