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European PACS and PACS Professional and Technical Services Markets
Frost & Sullivan, Jan 2006
This Frost & Sullivan research service titled European PACS and PACS Professional and Technical Services Market provides an overview of the European market for PACS software, hardware, consulting services, project management, integration and networking as well as training and support. The study also identifies trends by application and also discusses the impact of recent developments in the market. Major industry challenges as well as market drivers and restraints are discussed in the study. It also provides strategic recommendations for market participants such as original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), legacy X-ray film companies and independent PACS/RIS suppliers.
Customised Individual Solutions Required to Combat Complexities in PACS Installation
Increasing emphasis on improving the workflow in the radiology departments of European healthcare institutions has led to greater demand for picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) due to their ability to digitise the imaging process and archive the images. Currently, with the installation of radiology information systems (RIS) being on parallel tracks with PACS, the technical profile of generic PACS is becoming increasingly complex. Simultaneously, the installation of local and wide area networks (LAN and WAN) to provide adequate bandwidth and essential archiving has augmented existing complexities. Hence, vendors will need to produce fully integrated workstations that offer a consistent user-interface for all modalities. Despite the standardisation provided by the digital communication in medicine (DICOM) platform, gaining a competitive edge in the market will depend on vendors’ ability to offer customised individual solutions.
Technological advances such as improvements in individual PACS components have created improvised workstations, which assist the process of optimising workflow, says the analyst of this research service. This is likely to be enhanced with the advent of voice-recognition technology (VRT), which can be incorporated into PACS to create efficiencies in radiology reporting, dictation and transcription processes.
Vendors to Reduce Organisational Costs to Protect Profit Margins
With PACS becoming a mainstream application, end users’ demands for customised solutions and their requests for proposal (RFP) have increased. Vendors will need to deal with each PACS installation on an individual basis, which is likely to reduce the economies of scale.
As differing tiers of healthcare institutions (such as small clinics and diagnostic treatment centres) are installing PACS, large vendors in the market are faced with competition from small, local vendors that have the advantage of reduced internal cost structures. Hence, companies that manage their internal cost structures and organisational costs most effectively will be able to offer greater functionality at competitive prices without narrowing profit margins, notes the analyst. This will ensure the conversion of unit shipment growth into a corresponding rise in revenues. Additionally, large and more established vendors should remain flexible to respond to varying customer needs.
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