This is part 3 of a 3-part blog series, on overcoming the unique challenges presented in archiving PACS images to tape. In part 1, I provided details on why this is a problem for most hospitals. In part 2, I provided information on how BridgeHead worked with one hospital in the Midwest to overcome this problem – at low cost and with a true vendor-neutral approach.

In part 3, I am providing additional details in the form of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the solution approach for a PACS image archive.

Does using BridgeHead for disk-based image archive require PACS migration services?

Yes. However, you will need migration services to migrate DICOM images from tape to disk, regardless of the brand of the VNA which you select to eliminate tape. Note that the PACS vendor will need to configure the PACS archiving process to send DICOM to BridgeHead’s DICOMStore, and to migrate existing studies from tape to BridgeHead’s DICOMStore.

Does BridgeHead have a reference hospital who worked with BridgeHead to overcome the problem?

Yes. BridgeHead can provide references for you, who have worked with BridgeHead to successfully overcome the challenge of working with tape for many brands of PACS with image archive.

How do you know if you are a good fit for the BridgeHead archive approach?

Your hospital is a good fit for the BridgeHead archive solution if you can answer “yes” to one or more of these conditions:

  • Your hospital is currently archiving DICOM studies to tape.
  • Your hospital is nearing or has reached capacity for your tape library, requiring you to swap tapes.
  • Your hospital is interested in VNA – perhaps because your PACS vendor has indicated VNA as a solution to the problem.

Are you an existing BridgeHead SCA Customer? 

If yes, then you can leverage your current BridgeHead HDM installation, and archive your DICOM images the same way that you archive SCA.  BridgeHead provides one solution for all of your archive needs.

Have you already been provided a quote for a VNA? 

The BridgeHead VNA solution is less expensive than the VNA from PACS vendors. Also, BridgeHead is truly vendor-neutral. Before you make a decision about your VNA, make sure that you take a look at what BridgeHead’s VNA can do for you.

BridgeHead’s VNA was recently recognized as the market-leading VNA solution in Europe by the IMS Research organization.

What is the position of your radiology department on VNA?

At some hospitals, clinicians are interested in solving the PACS archiving problem, and their goals are in sync with those of IT.  At other hospitals, the communication between clinicians and IT is not as open. BridgeHead can help “bridge the gap” between IT and clinicians, by helping to educate the clinical team on the urgency of eliminating tape-based archives. Please reach out to us if you are in this situation at a hospital.

Can hospitals archive to disk storage with PACS in some cases? 
Yes, some PACS vendors have validated a limited list of disk storage technologies for their archive process.  This is not a panacea, however.  Hospitals can’t simply pick any disk storage technology for the archive process as PACS vendors are required by the FDA to validate all storage technologies that they support for the archive process.  Further, because the archive process is a separate process from what is your normal storage process, it must be validated separately, resulting in more work and more cost.  The result is that the list of supported storage technologies is typically very short – and that hospitals do not have the range of choices that they need to reduce costs and maintain flexibility.

To solve this, PACS vendors offers VNA – for which BridgeHead offers a lower cost, truly vendor-neutral alternative.

In summary, hospitals working with PACS typically archive images to tape, creating unnecessary burdens for already taxed PACS administrators. BridgeHead’s VNA is a low-cost, easy-to-deploy, and truly vendor-neutral solution for hospitals who want to eliminate their tape dependency for PACS DICOM images.