Whitepapers

About Networking

One of the many benefits Radiologists anticipate when moving from film to digital is the ability to view any image, anywhere, anytime.  The vision often includes reading from multiple clinics, providing online access to referring physicians and even catching up on work from the cottage.  The network, which includes the local area network (LAN) within the clinic and the wide area network (WAN) outside the clinic, is fundamental to delivering the ubiquitous, instantaneous and reliable experience that clinic operators envision.  Unfortunately, when planning the conversion, much of the attention is focused on digital modalities and viewing stations and insufficient attention is paid to the network that will transport this information.

Networking, as with many information technology disciplines, is often perceived as foreign, arcane and expensive.  There are many options available with associated trade-offs in terms of speed, reliability, security and cost.  This whitepaper attempts to guide decision makers through those trade-offs as they plan their digital enterprise.

The focus of this paper is on highlighting typical clinic scenario’s, from a single site clinic to a multi-site operation and illustrating the types of network and security concerns that are relevant.  We will provide sample high level designs, budgetary costs and alternate providers to give the clinic planner a toolkit to establish budgets and manage its digital transformation.  Some discussion of the technology is necessary to provide a common language, but this is kept to the minimum. 

To learn more please download the PDF.