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“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” opined Benjamin Franklin. While the Founding Father may not have been speaking quite so literally, it’s an idea that will feel familiar to many healthcare professionals. We advise patients to eat well and exercise regularly, even when they’re in the best of health, knowing the long-term benefits far outweigh the short-term inconveniences.

Healthcare providers too should find some wisdom in Franklin’s words. A record storage system is a virtual necessity in our data-driven world, yet it’s one that too many practices overlook. A safe, secure cloud-based system offers many advantages for practitioners and patients alike, but some still balk, citing the fear of expense. 

Many Purview Image users have questions about DICOM images, including:  

• Can DICOM files be compressed?
• Are DICOM files large?
• Why are DICOM files so large?
• Can you email a DICOM file?
• Why is the DICOM format most suitable for medical images?
• How do I convert a DICOM to a JPEG?
• What is image compression in radiology?

Today, this blog post will focus on whether DICOM medical images can be compressed, when it's appropriate to compress them, and how you can get started.  

Purview’s solutions offer clients the possibility of accessing critical medical information remotely, from anywhere with an internet connection, at any time. The cloud-based solutions, Purview Image, and Expert View can be implemented in practices to store and manage both patient studies and patient cases, respectively. Because of the sensitive nature of the protected health information (or PHI) shared and stored in Purview solutions, we have implemented multiple safety and security measures to keep you and your patients safe. 

Is it possible for cloud PACS software to crash and lose all medical data? Before answering this question, it’s important to understand that no one can guarantee absolute security. An impenetrable system does not exist. However, you should consider the security measures in place from any PACS vendor that you are considering using to protect yourself and your patient's protected health information (PHI).

For years, medical practices have been distributing patient records back and forth via email. So you may ask yourself, “if it's not broke, why fix it?” Well... it actually is broken. Apart from being an inefficient way to distribute large files, refusing to invest in a secure platform to send and receive sensitive data can cost your practice more than money.