Agfa HealthCare named #1 recommended image sharing vendor in peer60 medical image sharing report

- Recognition confirms success of company’s clinical use-based approach to image sharing - Solution is available for a single discipline or as a part of a comprehensive Enterprise Imaging strategy - Agfa HealthCare’s Converged Exchange Suite is designed to cover the broader definition of image sharing

Research firm peer60 in a recently published review of healthcare imaging and technology vendors, found that healthcare executives who were asked about their experiences named Agfa HealthCare the Number 1 most recommended image sharing vendor.

To come to this conclusion, peer60 used its Research as a Service (RaaS) platform to conduct extensive research with key leadership among provider organizations across the United States.

Image sharing is an integral part of Agfa HealthCare’s Enterprise Imaging solution, enabling caregivers to view, share, and exchange many types of medical images. The company’s platform solution is designed to empower physicians to make informed decisions through multi-specialty collaboration, helping improve delivery of patient care and streamlining costs.

The report, Medical Imaging Sharing 2016, published by peer60 in June, was released at the SIIM 2016 annual meeting. The report reflects the views of more than 350 healthcare providers, from PACS Administrators, to Directors of Radiology, to C-Suite-level stakeholders from hospitals large and small.

The report recognizes that healthcare has evolved past old technologies, such as CDs for medical image sharing, and that newer solutions, such as Point to Point VPNs and cloud based solutions, are popular but are being reconsidered for single-source imaging strategies, especially in the larger hospital market.

In the report, peer60 highlights the value in Agfa’s solutions. Notable is that unlimited direct site-to-site sharing lowers legal and financial barriers to image-sharing that depends on the cloud. Also, Agfa’s “viewing first” strategy for sharing images, saves time through direct interaction with the images, and in this way significantly reduces the number of times that the images must be moved. Agfa's technology strategy also saves storage and sharing costs.

In addition, says the report, hospitals have begun to employ the Enterprise Imaging Exchange Suite as part of a merger and acquisition strategy that looks to merging clinical needs ahead of infrastructure needs. This strategy help providers keep patients' continuity of care needs at the forefront.

The report features various use cases and opinions of actors throughout the image sharing chain, providing insight to a new and evolving market. In each, the value and ease-of-use of Agfa HealthCare’s solutions is highlighted. Agfa HealthCare’s image sharing solution covers use cases from trauma to telemedicine to home health and more. This approach has helped broaden the definition of image sharing with new use cases that were not previously considered.

In trauma, where time is of the essence, Agfa’s solution doesn’t require either a cloud or VPN and can get images where they need to be in a matter of seconds. In telemedicine, Agfa’s technology can be used to allow patients, caregivers, and referring providers to upload images to specialists for consult, either as a second opinion or as a follow-up to a prior visit.

“We are honored by the recognition of Agfa HealthCare's approach to image sharing,” said Lenny J. Reznik, Vice President of Marketing, North America, Agfa HealthCare. “Combining our deep clinical experience with our IT know-how, we strive to provide innovative tools that healthcare providers need every day to deliver patient-centric care. This award is recognition of that ongoing strategy.”