OREM, UT – Though PACS replacements have slowed overall, a new KLAS report, "PACS 2011: A Victim of Its Own Success," indicates that a new wave of replacements is near. Nearly one in six hospitals and health systems with more than 1,000 beds reported they have plans to replace their PACS.

"These large hospitals and health systems are seeking more innovative technology and deeper strategic partnerships for imaging," said Ben Brown, KLAS medical imaging general manager. "I think that the industry will see a wave of replacements starting in the largest hospitals that will eventually sweep over smaller hospitals as well."

Providers report that their vendors, for the most part, are performing very well in the PACS market, according to KLAS. Most have either been maintaining or improving on customer satisfaction since last year. DR Systems, Philips, Carestream, McKesson, and Fuji customers are the most excited about their current solution, and they are more likely to recommend their PACS to another facility than users of other systems. In large hospitals, Cerner, Sectra, GE PACS-IW, Siemens, and Agfa customers report they are more likely to say they have plans to move on.

Not only are providers looking at performance within radiology when making selections, the report notes, but they also are examining how well PACS vendors work with their EMR.

KLAS found that Allscripts sites work well with Sectra, and Cerner sites work well with Fuji PACS. Epic shops have good success with both McKesson and Philips PACS.

McKesson EHR hospitals work nicely with Fuji PACS, as well as DR Systems. Meditech shops succeed with many vendors, including DR Systems, McKesson , Philips Fuji, Sectra and Merge. Siemens PACS, meanwhile, typically performs well with Siemens Invision/Soarian sites.

"Innovation is also top of mind for providers," said Brown. "And innovators that can be great partners are what providers are looking for. They want PACS vendors that can demonstrate in-depth clinical and radiological expertise. PACS vendors need to be savvy enough to talk with a CIO about things that matter at the hospital or health system level, such as scalability, interoperability, and accessibility."

The report includes in-depth information outlining why providers stick with their PACS vendors, along with why some providers are looking to replace.