Cloud 1It was just a few short years ago that healthcare providers pondered the cloud as an appropriate place for their PACS to reside. It was still a valid question back then as many within the medical industry worried about HIPAA violations running rampant with sensitive information floating around in the cloud. Those fears have been addressed and proven irrelevant. What we know now is that the future of medical imaging is indeed in the cloud.

Cloud PACS are emerging as the clear leader for several reasons, cost being a major one. In 2010, cloud computing for medical imaging had generated a market worth around $56 million. It’s now in the billions of dollars and growing at a very fast rate. While healthcare providers invest heavily in cloud PACS, they are also expecting a big return on their investment. Hospitals that have already converted their cloud PACS are saving millions of dollars.

It’s not all about money; it’s also about the health of the patient. Cloud PACS allow doctors quick and easy access to the medical imaging they need to make faster, more accurate diagnoses. Most providers are still using CD burning technology to transfer images from one department to another or from one facility to the other. This is an inefficient method of sharing images and it’s not without its hiccups as CDs are often not properly burned or lost in transition. Once they go to the cloud, they see how much more efficient the process is and wish they’d jumped to the cloud sooner.

If you haven’t already fully investigated the cloud-based PACS, you should know that data is stored on offsite servers and is available for viewing at any time. The best cloud PACS use datacenters with multiple backup procedures and redundancies that ensure that your images will be available 100 percent of the time. The best models offer resource pooling, measured service, on-demand self-service, broad network access and total scalability.

If you’re still worried about security in the cloud, you should know that the cloud can actually enhance security. The professionals behind these datacenters stake their reputations on the security of their services. Any breach, large or small, could derail the reputation of that provider, which is why they take extra measures to keep all data safe and secure at all times.

OffSite Image Management, Inc., is helping drive the future of cloud PACS by offering excellent, premium services to healthcare providers at a price that makes sense. Even the rural providers with few resources are gaining an edge by partnering with OffSite. In fact, OffSite’s founders have all worked with rural providers and know exactly what their needs are.

Maybe you’ve seen our brand on the side of the racecar we sponsor out on the Trans Am championship circuit? It’s a perfect match – a racecar and an image management company providing some of the fastest access to medical imaging. Contact us today and get connected with the cloud PACS solutions that will drive your efficiency expectations to new levels.