Is Digital X-ray Worth the Effort?

KLAS Publishes 2008 Digital Radiography Report

Press Release Summary: Digital Radiography adoption continues to grow, despite CT and MR technology advances, due to relatively low cost and frequency of use. KLAS investigates which vendors hit the mark in this digital x-ray report.

Orem, UT –(04/21/2008)-

Although advanced medical imaging procedures such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) are growing, x-ray imaging continues to dominate as a standard diagnostic procedure. X-ray equipment is among the first modalities to be upgraded to a digital platform due to the relatively low cost and its frequent use in diagnostic procedures. Many organizations have already implemented digital radiography (DR) in their facilities; however, there currently is a significant market yet to adopt this enabling technology.

KLAS found in its recently published 2008 Digital Radiography report that overall most healthcare professionals are satisfied with their DR vendors. Additionally, providers reported increased patient throughput which resulted in improved ROI. The study data revealed that DR equipment generally performed as advertised and that DR support has been satisfactory. However, a differentiating factor among vendors was their timely and accurate response to provider questions and issues.

According to the study respondents, there are still areas in which DR technology can improve. Certain imaging procedures, such as those performed in the ED, require flexibility that DR currently lacks, which makes a back up system such as CR advisable.

Vendors included in the report were Carestream (Kodak), FUJIFILM, GE, IDC, Philips, Quantum Medical Imaging, Shimadzu, Siemens, and Toshiba. For more information about this or other imaging equipment reports, contact KLAS.

About KLAS

KLAS is a research firm specializing in monitoring and reporting the performance of healthcare’s information technology (HIT) vendors. KLAS’ mission is to improve HIT delivery, by independently measuring vendor performance for the benefit of our healthcare provider partners, consultants, investors, and vendors. Working together with executives from over 4500 hospitals and over 2500 clinics, KLAS delivers timely reports, trends, and statistics, which provide a solid overview of vendor performance in the HIT industry. KLAS measures performance of software, professional services, and medical equipment vendors. For more information, go to www.KLASresearch.com, email marketing@KLASresearch.com, or call 1-800-920-4109 to speak with a KLAS representative.