Enterprise Imaging Vendors Poised for Broad Market Adoption

March 25, 2021 - In a new report, KLAS estimated that just over 200 organizations in the US are live with enterprise imaging (EI) technology, but researchers question whether EI technology is ready for broad adoption by the market at large. 

The 2021 KLAS Enterprise Imaging report interviewed leaders from 138 of the deepest adopting organizations to examine recent go-lives, customer-reported ROI, and vendor’s strategic ability.

Insight into each of these factors can help researchers identify each vendor’s points of success and reasons for caution, KLAS explained. Ultimately, this could uncover which vendors are positioned to meet customer needs as EI technology adoption continues to increase.

Regardless of the vendor in use, 53 percent of respondents reported a positive return from their EI investment. The specifics were not fully communicated, but generally centered on improved clinician satisfaction with imaging workflows and accessibility.

Respondents with more concrete ROIs noted being able to discontinue displaced systems and increase physician productivity in radiology and beyond, researchers explained. 

KLAS identified four stand-out vendors with the most proven track record, as the EI market continues to develop. These vendors include Agfa HealthCare, Fujifilm, Hyland, and IBM Watson Health. 

The promising track record for these vendors indicate that they are most ready for future EI adopters.

The top proof points of success for each of the four vendors included Agfa HealthCare’s ability to scale and deliver for large customers, Fujifilm’s ability to deliver to some larger customers, Hyland’s average percentage of customers that report an ROI, and IBM Watson Health’s large organizations and strong scalability. 

Agfa HealthCare had the most go-lives and customers said that the company had well-coordinated go-lives and “excellent technology.” 

In contrast, IBM Watson Health customers reported significant go-lives struggles, such as lack of organization and lack of some functionality in the sales aspect. But its largest customers stated that the vendor is a standout for scalability. 

Philips had no new go-lives, but its customers, although the smallest group interviewed, reported a positive ROI. Customers said they have been able to consolidate solutions by adding cardiology images to their traditional archive. 

Agfa HealthCare, Philips, IBM Watson Health, and GE Healthcare were the best at providing strategic guidance, with all of their customers stating that each vendors always tries to help strategically. 

“Strategic guidance is not easy to deliver—especially in large, complex settings—but it is critical for EI success; this is true for organizations new to EI and those expanding existing capabilities,” researchers stated. “What qualifies as strategic guidance varies among organizations, with larger organizations often needing greater help with governance, change management, and long-term vision.”

Although having a limited track record, Mach7 Technologies’s customers reported high satisfaction and KLAS validated one new go-live.  

GE Healthcare and NTT Data customers reported the lowest satisfaction and the most challenges, with only 50 percent of GE Healthcare’s customers leveraging the vendor’s universal viewer for referential viewing. Other customers used a third-party viewer instead.

Overall, KLAS researchers found these two companies “struggling to deliver.”

And while many Sectra PACS customers are new to the Sectra VNA, these organizations do not consider themselves net-new go-lives since they view the VNA as an add-on to their existing Sectra PACS technology, researchers explained.