The companies launched interoperability and DICOM routing offerings for Exa PACS|RIS and Exa Teleradiology aimed at supporting imaging data exchange across healthcare enterprises.
Konica Minolta Healthcare Americas Inc and DataFirst announced interoperability solutions for Exa PACS|RIS and Exa Teleradiology. DataFirst provides DICOM routing, healthcare data migration, and workflow orchestration solutions through its Silverback Workflow Engine. Konica Minolta Healthcare Americas provides medical diagnostic imaging and healthcare IT solutions.
“For several years, Konica Minolta has partnered with DataFirst, the gold standard in advanced workflow solutions and healthcare image routing, to provide our customers with enterprise-grade data migration tools,” says Kevin Stinson, vice president of sales, Konica Minolta HCIT, in the release. “As we expand the Exa Platform and interoperability capabilities across healthcare enterprises, there was only one choice to partner with—DataFirst—a company that helped develop the initial DICOM standard.”
Even with standards such as DICOM, organizations often face interoperability or routing issues when sharing patient imaging data across facilities and different PACS and RIS systems within a healthcare enterprise, according to a press release from Konica Minolta Healthcare Americas, which notes that the consolidation of hospitals and radiology practices has increased these challenges.
The release states that standard routing solutions may not provide the customization and adaptability organizations need for enterprise-wide sharing of imaging data, particularly as imaging workflows expand beyond radiology and cardiology departments.
Exa Gateway, Powered by Silverback, is a configurable routing solution designed to support image routing and automated study workflow. According to the release, Exa Gateway enables simple to complex image routing and automated study workflow. It provides a study cache to expedite resends and a web-based user interface for configuration, monitoring, and troubleshooting of data sets. The companies said these capabilities are intended to help Exa PACS|RIS and Exa Teleradiology customers route studies to and from other radiology practices.
Exa DICOM Engine, Powered by Silverback, provides interoperability services built around a DICOM router and workflow engine. According to the release, features include intelligent prefetch capabilities integrated into customer workflows and rules-based processing that allows users to define criteria for message handling and processing. The companies said the platform is intended to serve as an integration hub for teleradiology practices managing DICOM workflows with clients.
“At DataFirst, we believe the best outcomes happen when great technology is paired with great partnerships. Our relationship with Konica Minolta reflects a shared commitment to helping healthcare organizations simplify complex imaging environments, improve interoperability, and create workflows that better support clinicians and patients alike. Together, we’re delivering solutions that help healthcare organizations move forward with confidence,” says Beau Jones, president and CEO of DataFirst, in the release.
Photo caption: Diagram of the Silverback Workflow Engine
Photo credit: Konica Minolta Healthcare Americas
