URMC selects Acuo UCP3 as new vendor neutral archive solution

Acuo Technologies®, the leader in high-performance software and services for intelligent medical image lifecycle management and data migration, announced today that University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) has selected the Universal Clinical Platform (UCP3) as the company's new vendor neutral archive solution. UCP3 will replace URMC's existing PACS archives while providing an enterprise foundation for future on-premise and cloud-based clinical content management.   The total solution was sold by Acuo's partner, Mainline Information Systems.  Mainline architected and will implement the complete infrastructure solution, comprised of IBM servers and Storwize V7000 Unified Storage.

UCP3 will provide URMC with better access to all imaging data and a comprehensive solution for facility, partner and physician affiliation, while allowing the company to retire more expensive imaging archive systems across its facilities. UCP3 enables URMC to preserve its investment in existing PACS technology and storage assets, while providing an easier and more economical path for replacement of these systems when the time is right.

As part of the URMC implementation, Acuo will migrate over a decade of radiology and cardiology images from various PACS in the health system.  In addition to replacing the cardiology PACS, the VNA will be deployed in advance of the installation of the replacement radiology PACS.  By implementing the VNA in advance of the new Radiology PACS, URMC will be able deploy only the front end of the new PACS, saving cost, shortening the time to install, and ensuring the ownership of the medical imaging data by URMC, eliminating future migrations.  This solution will provide network physicians with a single location to retrieve clinical content, rather than having to navigate multiple system interfaces and archives. This approach will facilitate an image-enabled EMR to improve physician effectiveness and provide better patient care, while lowering operational costs.

"We believe the strategy of implementing the VNA prior to installing a replacement PACS is the most sensible way to ensure a rapid shut down of the old PACS and shortening the training and first use of the new PACS.  This saves money, time and reduces the load on the already stretched resources in IT and the clinical departments," said Jeff Timbrook, CEO of Acuo Technologies.  "URMC leadership shares Acuo's vision of the next generation of image management systems that are focused on delivering superior patient care while reducing costs throughout the enterprise."

"URMC partnered with Acuo Technologies after a thorough evaluation of the top VNA middleware suppliers," said Jerry Powell, CIO of URMC. "It became clear that Acuo's level of expertise with this type of technology was extensive based on the effort of the Acuo team, working with URMC's team, to develop a solution, not just to sell a product.  The Acuo UCP3 offering gives us the flexibility to deploy technology in a way that meets our strategic needs."