In 2006, the Joint Department of Medical Imaging (JDMI)--comprised of the University Health Network, Mount Sinai Hospital and Women's College Hospital--partnered with ClearCanvas to develop a new, powerful, open source RIS/PACS. Over the course of the next year, this system will be deployed across five physical sites and will eventually handle over 1 million studies per year.
While our approach to obtaining a RIS/PACS is unique and unconventional, there are good reasons why this is an effective long term strategy:
Empowerment
The open source licensing model empowers us to change the system as we see fit. For example, when new requirements arise, or when new government initiatives are mandated, we are able to respond in a timely manner by modifying the system as necessary. Vendor lock-in is no longer a concern.
Economics
Our approach to RIS/PACS is significantly less expensive than traditional vendor solutions. Furthermore, the system is funded from our operating budget instead of costly capital.
Extensibility
The most important and powerful feature of the system is its extensibility. The Application Framework allows new functionality to be added in an efficient and modular way. Highly customized, institution specific features can be incorporated without requiring changes to the "core" product. In effect, obsolescence can be mitigated through extensibility rather than new capital investments.
Ecosystem
As a founding partner in this initiative, we strongly believe that a vibrant ecosystem is essential to the long-term success of the project. It is an ecosystem that we not only contribute to, but also benefit from, as developers, radiologists and researchers from all over the world come to participate in it.
We look forward to sharing our experiences and strategies for sustainability in the coming months with the community at large.
Barbara Mesic
Project Manager, Imaging Informatics and Business Intelligence
Joint Department of Medical Imaging
John Adziovsky
Director, Imaging Informatics and Business Intelligence
Joint Department of Medical Imaging
June 2008