What can you do? Contract

• Define data that will be imported.
• Set expectations with vendor on how long it will take. Deadline.
• Keep searching while waiting.
• Sign a written agreement. If they don't deliver, you have legal ground to go to another vendor.

What can you do? PACS

• Start Now! Set up your own PACS Imaging Server: Horos, Orthanc, DCM4CHEE, etc.
• Most radiographic software products support DICOM. Check with each vendor to enable DICOM export to PACS.

What can you do?

• Ask your IT and software vendors about implementing open-standards based solutions. If they steer you away, try to find out why.
• Get involved with your professional organizations, and ask how you can help move this forward. Check out what they have. Functional Profiles?
• Discuss this with your fellow colleagues. Listen to more people talk about this. Try to speed up the learning curve.

What can you do?

• When getting a demo, you will be shown extensively how to input and view data in the product. Express to demoer that you have just as much a requirement to put it in, as you do to take it out, and that you therefore would like a detailed demo on how to extract the data from their system.
• Start Now! Set up your own PACS Imaging Server.

Ask you software's support these questions

Find out if you really have control over your data.

• The day I decide to move to a different software product, what will the process to export my data and import it into the new software be?
• I would like to use Software B to send out my email reminders. Can you please ensure the two software products can share data both ways?

open-ortho.org