As my inaugural year of writing for Medical Imaging comes to a close, I want to offer readers some of my reflections on the past 12 months. I have both good and bad news. The good news is that from a product-robustness standpoint, 2006 looks as though it will be as dynamic as?if not more so than?any previous year, due to vendor competitiveness that is growing more and more aggressive every day. I find this competitiveness exciting and invigorating, and I am looking forward to the challenges it presents.
The bad news is you are stuck with my monthly insights on this ever-changing environment for another year, as I will be writing this column again in 2006. But in all seriousness, I’ll again be sharing my commentary on what I experience every day in the marketplace. Throughout 2005, I have enjoyed answering your emails and returning your telephone calls regarding my columns. If you have specific questions on your mind, I encourage you to contact me: .
Although I am not sure everyone has liked my answers or always agreed with my views, I assure you that I always write based on the reality of our environment and what my clients and I are experiencing. My goal is to be straightforward and honest with you, as this is exactly what my clients expect from me. We need to constantly challenge our perceptions and be willing to change our expectations. Sometimes, this philosophy is easy, as it fits with our strategic focus, but sometimes it’s hard. I challenge you over the next 12 months to keep an open mind and challenge yourself and your views.
We have discussed many interesting topics over the past year, including decision-making politics, integration, success metrics, project planning, implementation keys, focusing on the goal of purchasing a PACS, managing a successful site visit, client feedback on PACS administrators, a personal note to vendors, cardiac and radiology PACS, and the key to planning a successful RSNA meeting.
As we finalize the 2005 calendar year and move toward my favorite time of the year, all I can say is … it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. As I dream of what will be under the tree for me this year, I want to share with you what I would like to have an informatics Santa deliver to me, my clients, and the marketplace this season.
In staying with my themes this year, I would like my first present (wrapped in blue and red, of course) to be the gift of unity for all PACS committees everywhere. This gift would ensure that committees are tightly organized, that members are on the same page as to what their enterprise needs will be from a PACS vendor, and that members’ diversity of opinions drive the quality of the decision-making process?all while remaining committed to a common vision of the optimal solution for every stakeholder. This present also would include a subpackage full of consensus and, if needed, compromise.
My next gift would be an accurate and common language for the entire integration process as well as for vendors and their products. This gift would allow us to easily navigate between vendors and would have us all speaking the same language. Although it isn’t so great to open a big box and find very little inside, sometimes less is more. Along with this new, accurate language, I would like the gift to include a vendor report card so that customers can grade vendors on the accuracy of their statements and their actual delivery timing.
The next box, wrapped in gold, would be the gift of true enlightenment for each vendor. This gift would actually be aligned with exactly what we ask each vendor to present. For instance, many times, the customer tells the vendor to deliver the specific level of detail that it needs and wants, but the vendor delivers whatever it wants. With this gift, however, the vendor actually delivers on all of the client’s needs and wants.
Then, I would love the gift of project management, which enters the process truly dedicated to understanding the client’s environment and workflow. Too many times, this gift is only a box of “here is how we do it.” This gift would include the attempt and effort to understand that every site is different and requires a customized approach to overcome current issues and achieve successful results.
Also on my list is a small gift of actually answering questions that are asked in a “Request for Information” with appropriate detail. It is very difficult to read a vendor response that still leaves a PACS committee trying to figure out the actual answer. This gift would ensure that the committee does not need to ask the same question again. It also would ensure that qualified vendors will not be eliminated due to a poor or incorrect response to a question.
The gift that keeps on giving is next on my list: the continued identification of PACS administration talent. Their growth, strength, and confidence in assuming this role are very important. This gift would include the migration of very bright, talented people from outside healthcare to our world who will quickly pick up on the intricacies of the healthcare environment. PACS administrators are the key to an effective system operation and the successful practice of convincing all of the referring community to adapt to the technology.
A gift that accelerates the development and adaptation of both industry standards and the IHE progress for all cardiac PACS vendors is also on my wish list. This gift would provide a shared vision and commitment to moving combined clinical applications toward improved integration?independent of the vendor.
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The final gift on my list is a real-time scorecard that would monitor which company has acquired another and which ones have announced plans to buy others. I am excited about the dynamics in our industry and the acquisition of products to drive product excellence and robustness, as well as the aggressive market competitiveness. I just need help keeping track of it all!
If all of these gifts would actually be under my or anyone’s tree, it would be quite a remarkable holiday. Many of the gifts mentioned above would be welcomed by all and would certainly make a difference in our industry. Some of you might have variations of my informatics wish list, and I hope that each of you receive them. Thanks to everyone for a great 2005. I look forward to an even better 2006!
Michael Mack is VP of business development at the Thomas Group Ltd (Anaheim, Calif). Having more than 20 years of experience in the medical imaging industry, Mack now specializes in PACS planning and implementation.
