Provision of a Vendor Neutral Archive (VNA) as a Central Clinical Image Repository for The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust

A summary of the requirements for the provision of a Vendor Neutral Archive (VNA) as a Central Clinical Image Repository for The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust is provided below:-

Due to the impending 'end of life' of the Trust's current PACS system hardware, it is necessary to replace the infrastructure for both the associated short and long term storage capacity. The suppliers solution will need to run on this new infrastructure, therefore there is no need to cost infrastructure components in your solution.

This crucial point in the primary PACS storage system life cycle has presented the Trust with an opportunity to review the existing image storage solution and move toward a single data storage facility, as opposed to expanding the current outdated infrastructure and technology.

A VNA solution would also include the provision of a 'zero footprint viewing tool'. This would enable secure viewing of multiple data types across a variety of display devices throughout the Trust. This is in addition to acting as a PACS viewer for the departments outside of Radiology and the wider health community.

Trust ownership of data via a VNA would facilitate better integration of Health and Social care, provide better access to the community for clinical information, and potentially allow future patient access to their medical records. In addition it also reduces costs and risks as software suppliers inevitably change over time.

The Trust are looking to implement a VNA solution which will enable the storage and retrieval of DICOM and NON-DICOM format documents which can be viewed in context via the Trust's EPR (Allscripts Sunrise). The ability to utilise full XDS technology will also be required in the future but not as part of the initial procurement.