Sentara selects Mach7 imaging platform to unify PACS approach

Sentara Healthcare is taking a step in modernizing its picture archiving and communication systems, picking Mach7 Technologies as its supplier.

The not-for-profit integrated delivery system, based in Norfolk, Va., serves about 2 million residents in Virginia and northeastern North Carolina.

The healthcare system, which includes 12 hospitals and more than 1,000 physicians and 3,800 medical providers, is working on updating its PACS through a reconstructed architecture that will use Burlington, Vt.-based Mach7’s Enterprise Imaging Platform, which was implemented as part of a previous contract.



The new approach also will use Mach7’s Diagnostic Studio and Client Outlook’s eUnity diagnostic viewer, Sentara executives say.

Those execs noted that a major consideration was how vendor-agnostic each potential solution was; Sentara determined the Mach7 solution to be the most capable, providing the greatest efficiency and scalability when integrated into its existing infrastructure.

“The PACS modernization project will eliminate seven existing radiology PACS systems across the Sentara enterprise, creating a substantial cost reduction while providing a significantly improved clinical experience, in major part due to having access to all studies across the system,” says Trent Conwell, IT Director of Sentara Healthcare.

In addition to the PACS modernization project, Sentara Healthcare, Mach7 Technologies and Client Outlook are jointly developing an "Imaging Innovations Lab" at Sentara in Virginia Beach. When complete, the lab will be used to provide onsite training and demonstrations of the Mach7 solution to prospective new customers.

“This lab, located on the Sentara campus, has been developed to provide interested organizations the opportunity to see the Mach7/Client Outlook solution firsthand,” Conwell adds. “It will be staffed by Sentara physicians, clinicians and technology personnel to provide a comprehensive learning and evaluation experience."