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The Digital Decision: Considerations When Choosing a RIS/PACS Strategy

RT-Image | Many factors drive healthcare facilities to transition from analog to digital radiology workflow. Some organizations use this transition to improve productivity, workflow efficiencies, and information access. Other organizations make this transition to reduce report turnaround time to referring physicians or enhance the healthcare experience for patients. Still others strive to reduce overall imaging expenses or streamline business practices.

Regardless of your reason to adopt a digital radiology workflow or reinvent your existing digital workflow, it is important to focus on your healthcare facility’s individual objectives when evaluating the vast array of choices in the marketplace. Here, we will review factors you should consider to gain the most potential benefit from the systems that support your digital radiology workflow.

Multi-System vs. Single-System Approach

In the early stages of digital radiology, it was common for radiology vendors to focus on a core competency, such as RIS or PACS, and provide a system that supported a focused subset of the radiology workflow. As the radiology software industry continues to mature, there has been a general industry shift toward developing packaged solutions that address all activities in the radiology workflow.

Vendors who once offered only a RIS or PACS system are now offering combined solutions branded as interfaced or integrated systems. As a consumer, it is important to delve further to determine exactly what each vendor means by these terms so you can gauge their impact on your workflow objectives.

Communication Between Separate Systems

In many RIS/PACS solutions, the terms “interfaced” or “integrated” reflect a communication requirement between two distinct systems with separate databases. This communication requirement may be an HL-7 interface that connects systems developed by different vendors, or it may be a private communication protocol to connect a vendor’s modular product offerings into an extended system. While it is a great benefit to connect software systems to support all actions in your radiology workflow, it is important to recognize that process adds a level of complexity to your workflow and introduces additional points of failure into your system.

Software vendors, such as Charleston, S.C.-based Avreo, offer an alternative to this integrated solution by providing a single database system that supports features common to traditional RIS, PACS, and dictation/transcription systems. This approach simplifies the system and reduces potential points of failure due to communication errors between systems.

Segmentation of Data

Interfaced and integrated RIS/PACS solutions generally do not share a common database. This data segmentation can be problematic for several reasons. First, some radiology data is available in only one system, which may reduce your ability to access data when needed. Additionally, some radiology data must be constantly synchronized between the systems, which adds a level of complexity and introduces the opportunity for error. For example, if you update the spelling of a patient’s name in the RIS, the RIS must then communicate this change to the PACS.

Data segmentation and synchronization is not an issue for RIS/PACS systems that share a common, well-structured database. This improves access to information in all points of your workflow because data is no longer designated as RIS– or PACS-centric information. It also eliminates synchronization errors within the radiology workflow.

Impact of Upgrades and Maintenance

If you choose to interface RIS and PACS systems from separate vendors, you should consider the impact of software upgrades or routine maintenance on your radiology workflow. For example, if your PACS vendor offers a software upgrade, you should evaluate this upgrade in advance to confirm that it will not disrupt information flow between the RIS and PACS systems in your workflow.

Single-system RIS/PACS solutions generally reduce the impact of upgrades and routine maintenance on your radiology workflow because the upgrade addresses the whole system instead of one component within the system.

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Kyle Henneberry, M.D.

Associate Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Kyle Henneberry is a radiologist, health-tech innovator and one of the founders and principals of Direct Radiology. A native of Spokane, Washington, he graduated with honors in Biomedical Engineering from Northwestern University, received his medical degree from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and completed radiology residency at the University of Colorado. Dr. Henneberry has United States, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.

Jerry Lee

Chief Technology Officer

Jerry Lee has over 25 years of experience in healthcare IT. and has been with ONRAD since 2013. As the CTO, he is responsible for developing the organization’s technology strategy including IT infrastructure, application development, data analytics, cybersecurity and overall risk management. Lee’s focus is on strategic road mapping, leveraging emerging technologies and business intelligence to automate, streamline and optimize business processes. He previously worked as a senior healthcare IT consultant, where he implemented best practices, policies & procedures, and risk mitigation strategies for a variety of clients. He also previously worked as the Business Intelligence and Analytics Project Manager for a leading healthcare SaaS organization. He graduated with a B.S. from the University of California, Irvine.

Leandra Hutchinson

President, Direct Radiology

Leandra Hutchinson joined ONRAD alongside the acquisition of Direct Radiology in December 2024. Hutchison has broad experience in the healthcare industry, spending her career in healthcare technology and innovation. Prior to joining Direct Radiology in 2019, Leandra was the co-founder and Vice President of Operations of a health-tech company specializing in radiology analytics and healthcare asset management. Previously, Leandra worked in marketing, strategy, and operations roles for more than 10 years at a $7B integrated delivery system of hospitals and medical centers with more than 900 employed physicians. Hutchison earned her Bachelor’s degree from Kent State University and graduate certificate in health care policy and administration and MBA from the University of Toledo.

Ron Jackson

President, AllRads

Ron Jackson serves as President of AllRads at ONRAD, bringing over 30 years of comprehensive healthcare leadership across the provider, payer, and technology landscape. With deep expertise in radiology, he has spent more than 25 years in revenue cycle management, operations, finance, and practice management roles at leading organizations including HBOC, Per-Se Technologies, McKesson, and Zotec Partners. At ONRAD, Jackson leads day-to-day operations and strategic execution of AllRads, drawing on his cross-functional experience to drive efficiency, scalability, and growth. His 360-degree perspective of the healthcare ecosystem uniquely positions him to align organizational strategy with market dynamics in teleradiology and imaging services.

Alix Vincent, M.D.

Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Alix Vincent was one of the founding physicians at ONRAD. With over 26 years of radiology leadership experience, Dr. Vincent oversees medical staff activities, including patient safety, quality, and risk management initiatives. He manages ONRAD’s Regional Medical Directors, evaluates staff physicians, and drives clinical improvements to enhance physician alignment within the organization. Additionally, Dr. Vincent leads medical operations and played a key role in developing the company’s PACS and RIS Network capabilities. He previously served as Chief Radiologist and Chairman of the Radiology Department at Riverside Regional Medical Center. Dr. Vincent holds an M.D. in Radiology from Loma Linda University.

Lyn Mize

Chief Financial Officer

Lyn Mize serves as Chief Financial Officer at ONRAD, a role she has held since June 2022. With over two decades of experience in financial leadership, Mize has held CFO positions at various healthcare organizations, including Sunset Media Entertainment and Oncology Convergence, Inc. She also served as Vice President of Accounting at Health Choice and System Director of Accounting at Scottsdale Healthcare. Mize has a strong background in financial management, having worked with Banner Health and Greeley Medical Clinic, where she provided financial leadership for multi-specialty clinics and physician networks. Mize holds extensive expertise in driving financial performance and strategic growth across the healthcare sector and has a B.S. from DeVry University and a Masters from Grand Canyon University.

Dave Engert

President & CEO

Dave Engert started at Onrad as President and CEO in 2017. Engert is a seasoned healthcare executive with over 35 years of experience and a proven track record of leading and transforming healthcare technology organizations to drive growth and improve operational and financial performance. He previously served as President and CEO of Nighthawk Radiology, the largest teleradiology provider, and led its successful sale to vRad. Engert also held the role of President and CEO of Quality Care Solutions (QCSI), a leading provider of health insurance software, which was sold to Trizetto. Additionally, he has held leadership roles at McKesson, HBOC, and other notable companies and invested in several healthcare technology ventures. Engert holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Louisiana State University.