Centracare chooses Merge's iConnect for image interoperability, informatics strategy

Merge Healthcare (NASDAQ: MRGE), a leading provider of enterprise imaging and interoperability solutions, today announced that Centracare Health System's St. Cloud Hospital, the largest healthcare provider in the St. Cloud, MN region, has selected Merge's iConnect VNA (vendor neutral archive) and iConnect Share for their image interoperability and informatics strategy.

In use at more than 300 sites, iConnect VNA is the most widely-deployed vendor neutral archive in the industry. iConnect VNA stores medical images from multiple sites and multiple specialties, providing a valuable patient-centric view of all diagnostic images, as well as workflow documents, and other key information from multiple specialties on demand.

"To create a backbone for an enterprise imaging strategy, a true vendor neutral archive is a requirement," said Jeff Surges, CEO of Merge Healthcare. "Our iConnect VNA allows St. Cloud to have centralized imaging storage for all of the images across its entire system - without the need to replace existing viewer platforms or other legacy systems. Plus, because our VNA provides true vendor independence, St. Cloud will now enjoy worry-free data migration and image exchange in the future."

"We selected Merge because they have the best vision for the future of imaging, as well as a strong track record of stability and support," said Amy Porwoll, CIO of St. Cloud Hospital. "With iConnect VNA, we will be able to grow our infrastructure without additional investments in management, storage, migration or integration. And as we bring cardiology and other silos of information into the VNA, we'll be able to reduce the isolation of data and increase access to images, which ultimately will result in better patient care."

By utilizing Merge iConnect VNA and iConnect Share - an internet-based gateway for image sharing between enterprises - physicians can selectively view outside studies and store them in a local environment, regardless of the source system, location or format. As a result, they can provide faster time to treatment, increase referrals and leverage existing investments to reduce costs.