The Complete Guide to DICOM Migration

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The Complete Guide to DICOM Migration

  • Category Articles Medical Data Migration
  • Date Published Sep 12, 2023
  • Written by LAITEK Inc
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DICOM data migrations are common and necessary in the healthcare industry—they take place when it’s time to switch software or systems. 

Healthcare providers rely on electronic health record systems to ensure patient data is stored correctly and completely in real time. As such, the software must operate efficiently. Otherwise, any systematic challenge can result in a significant decrease in patient care quality and internal operations.

There are all kinds of new technological innovations in healthcare for better ways to perform complex tasks the current systems can’t handle or optimize anymore. When integrating these new systems or software, it’s time to think about a DICOM migration.

A woman sits at a white table, notebook resting in front of her. Pen perched under her chin. She listens intently as a colleague explains the process of DICOM migration.

What is a DICOM migration?

DICOM stands for Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine. It sets the standard for exchanging data, digital imaging format, and file structure format for medical images and image-related information. 

A DICOM data migration involves extracting, translating, and loading imaging data from one source and moving it to another. Hospitals often perform DICOM migrations when switching from a legacy PACS system to a new one.

LAITEK has a unique process for performing DICOM migrations: MIGRATEK is the sole solution for advanced DICOM migrations for medical imaging data. MIGRATEK ensures all medical imaging data quickly migrates away from the legacy PACS accurately, completely, and securely.

Why should hospitals care about DICOM migration?

The healthcare industry is becoming more data-driven. Medical images are necessary for hospitals and clinics to provide patient care. 

But what happens when the medical imaging data aren’t stored and archived in the best way? 

It results in significant inefficiencies and challenges for internal operations and workflows.

DICOM migrations are necessary to preserve medical imaging data and comply with strict healthcare regulations. 

They transfer the medical data from the legacy PACS system to the current system while keeping all the metadata, structures, and information intact. Moving away from the legacy PACS system means hospitals and clinics can manage their complex business environment and optimize medical workflows for better internal and external outcomes.

Who uses DICOM migration?

Hospitals, clinics, and any provider using diagnostic imaging devices need DICOM migrations – almost all healthcare providers. 

Diagnostic imaging devices include any technology that performs X-rays, CT scans, ultrasounds, MRIs, and more. 

Since many healthcare organizations get thousands of patients each day and multiple imaging scans for some patients, it’s essential to store and archive this imaging data on a reliable system.

With the emergence of better systems and standards for storing and archiving medical data, DICOM migrations become increasingly vital for all healthcare providers to manage complex workflows and information.

Is it time for a DICOM migration?

You update your computer software and electronic devices routinely—but did you know you should be doing the same with your electronic health record system?

Perhaps you’re starting to notice inefficiencies and inaccuracies with your imaging data. When using a legacy PACS system, these things happen more frequently and create significant challenges for healthcare providers to do their job correctly.

If your current system is lagging or you’re already using a newer one but haven’t moved your imaging data, it’s time for a DICOM migration.

 

A group of workers sit around a conference table, discussing the process of migrating a PACS and VNA

 

How does a DICOM migration work?

DICOM migrations are a complex and time-consuming process. 

It’s crucial to have a data migration solution compatible with the systems you’re using. You might need to build custom templates, clinical content, and reports based on the workflows and operations of your hospital or clinic.

There are different ways of performing a DICOM migration:

  1. Export images from the legacy PACS system and import them into your current system

  2. Manually move DICOM images from the legacy PACS system to your existing system

  3. Use a DICOM conversion tool that converts the imaging data from one format to another

There are also different software you can use to store and archive the medical imaging data you migrate from the legacy PACS system:

  1. On-premise EHR software managed in-house by the hospital or clinic

  2. SaaS EHRs that hold and archive all the medical imaging data in the cloud

  3. Custom EHR builds based on the highly specialized and specific needs of the hospital

Choosing the right system ensures its compatibility with your existing operations and workflows. It’s essential to test the data migration process before you start moving any of the data and have a strategic approach to ensure the data migration is complete, accurate, and validated.

A person sits at their desk, working on a series of commands to begin the process of entering a DICOM migration project.

Two people shake hands over a laptop. A rusted resource in knowing what a DICOM PACS migration is.

Who can i trust to migrate my pacs?

You’ve come to the right place if you’re ready to start the DICOM migration process. LAITEK is the only provider of advanced DICOM migration that provides complex data migrations quickly, accurately, and securely. 

You get validated data at industry-leading speeds with minimal data loss with us. We have built-in troubleshooting protocols and perform clean-up and localization to guarantee a complete migration stored and archived optimally.

Our MIGRATEK services perform the advanced DICOM migration quietly in a replicated environment without interrupting your operations and workflows. It’s a seamless solution that gives you the industry’s fastest and most complete data migration process.

Are you looking for unparalleled DICOM data migration services? Talk to LAITEK today – your trusted partner for complex PACS data migrations.