2023 Best In KLAS PACS Large

The PACS market is in flux—about one in five organizations interviewed by KLAS in the last two years is planning to replace their PACS, and more report they would replace their system if given the opportunity. This market shift is driven largely by organizations (1) replacing aging/legacy technology with go-forward platforms, (2) consolidating platforms, and (3) continuing to move toward unified enterprise imaging strategies. Organizations replacing their PACS are seeking vendor partners with a vision for the future and a strong commitment to innovation. This report examines 90 recent PACS purchase decisions validated by KLAS between September 2021 and September 2023 to understand why certain vendors are being considered, selected, and replaced in this dynamic market.

The US PACS market is poised for change. Several vendors have made or undergone acquisitions, and some vendors have large customer bases still on legacy solutions. Over 30% of the 368 organizations interviewed for this report are at risk of replacing their current vendor, and organizations are looking for vendor partners to advance their enterprise imaging strategies. Further, industry-wide staff shortages have led to support and innovation challenges among PACS vendors. This report examines how these vendors have addressed this shifting market’s challenges and met the needs of customers with large volumes (300,000+ studies per year) and small/midsize volumes (<300,000 studies per year).

Perception

Optum/Change Healthcare Merger

16 August 22 | Boyd Stewart and Sam Eaquinto

In January 2021, Optum announced their intentions to acquire Change Healthcare. The merger remains unfinalized, however, as the US Department of Justice blocked the deal in February 2022 due to anticompetition concerns—such a merger would give UnitedHealth Group, Optum’s parent company and the nation’s largest insurer, access to rivals’ sensitive data. The legal proceeding is ongoing and scheduled to go to trial August 1, 2022. This report shares Optum and Change Healthcare customers’ reactions to the merger and their perceptions of its impact. Between March 2021 and April 2022, KLAS interviewed 48 individuals from 46 unique organizations; of these respondents, 9% are Optum customers, 56% are Change Healthcare customers, and 35% are customers of both vendors.

Company/solution	Overall performance score (100-point scale)	Total evaluations	Trend (2022-2023)	Culture	Loyalty	Operations	Product	Relationship	Value

Sectra PACS	87.1	n=34	-2%	B+	A	B+	B+	B	B

Merative (formerly IBM) Merge PACS	84.5	n=25	+3%	B	A-	B+	B	B+	B-

Optum Change Healthcare Radiology Solutions	80.3	n=21	0%	B+	B-	B	B	B-	C-

Fujifilm Synapse	78.5	n=28	-7%	C-	B-	B-	B-	B	B

AGFA HealthCare Agfa HealthCare Enterprise Imaging for Radiology	75.6	n=20	N/A	C+	C	C+	C+	B	C

GE HealthCare Centricity PACS	60.4	n=25	+3%	D-	F	D	D	C	D-
	50.0	100.0

Company/solution	Trend (2022-2023)	Culture	Loyalty	Operations	Product	Relationship	Value

Sectra PACS 87.1 n=34 COMMENTS	-2%	B+	A	B+	B+	B	B
Merative (formerly IBM) Merge PACS 84.5 n=25 COMMENTS	+3%	B	A-	B+	B	B+	B-
Optum Change Healthcare Radiology Solutions 80.3 n=21 COMMENTS	0%	B+	B-	B	B	B-	C-
Fujifilm Synapse 78.5 n=28 COMMENTS	-7%	C-	B-	B-	B-	B	B
AGFA HealthCare Agfa HealthCare Enterprise Imaging for Radiology 75.6 n=20 COMMENTS	N/A	C+	C	C+	C+	B	C
GE HealthCare Centricity PACS 60.4 n=25 COMMENTS	+3%	D-	F	D	D	C	D-

Company/solution	Overall performance score (100-point scale)	Total evaluations	Culture	Loyalty	Operations	Product	Relationship	Value

AGFA HealthCare Agfa HealthCare IMPAX * [NP] L NP	65.8	n=7	C+	F	C-	C	C-	D+

INFINITT PACS * L	87.9	n=8	B	A	B-	A	B	A+

Intelerad IntelePACS * L	64	n=16	D+	D	C	D	D	F

Philips Image Management Vue PACS (Carestream) * L	78.8	n=18	C+	C+	B-	B-	B-	B-

Philips IntelliSpace PACS [NP] NP	60.5	n=24	F	F	C-	D	D+	D+

Company/solution	Overall performance score (100-point scale)	Total evaluations

AGFA HealthCare Agfa HealthCare IMPAX * [NP] L NP culture C+ loyalty F operations C- product C relationship C- value D+	65.8	n=7

INFINITT PACS * L culture B loyalty A operations B- product A relationship B value A+	87.9	n=8

Intelerad IntelePACS * L culture D+ loyalty D operations C product D relationship D value F	64	n=16

Philips Image Management Vue PACS (Carestream) * L culture C+ loyalty C+ operations B- product B- relationship B- value B-	78.8	n=18

Philips IntelliSpace PACS [NP] NP culture F loyalty F operations C- product D relationship D+ value D+	60.5	n=24

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