Acuo Recognized by KLAS for VNA Market Leadership in the United Kingdom

- Universal Clinical Platform preferred by healthcare providers evaluating an independent vendor neutral archive solution

MAIDENHEAD, United Kingdom, May 28, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Acuo Technologies®, a world leader in high-performance software and services for clinical content management and data migration and now part of Lexmark's Perceptive Software, announced today that KLAS recently released the results of a Performance Report entitled "PACS in the U.K." that names Acuo as the "independent VNA frontrunner."

PACS replacement activity is high in the U.K. as regional contracts with healthcare trusts begin to come up for renewal. As part of the PACS replacement initiative, many providers are also implementing vendor neutral archives (VNAs) to improve interoperability of clinical content across disparate healthcare facilities, departments and data silos. Of providers surveyed in the KLAS report that are considering a VNA, Acuo received the most "first choice" votes.     

The KLAS report went on to say that Acuo has "an advantage because they already have won several significant VNA tenders in the U.K." These tenders include selection as the national VNA platform for Wales and regional NHS Trust consortiums in Sussex and Surrey, Salisbury, Wight and South Hampshire (SWASH), North Bristol, Doncaster and Gloucester. KLAS reported that only 6% of those interviewed in the study already have a VNA in place. Acuo's regional experience and momentum positions the company as a strong contender for new VNA selections in the U.K. and mainland Europe in the months to come.     

Acuo often works with PACS vendors, data storage vendors and other healthcare IT partners as part of a comprehensive clinical content management solution, including migration of clinical data to and from PACS archives. Acuo's Universal Clinical Platform provides a comprehensive solution for clinical abstraction and life cycle management of all diagnostic images and related content, including an integrated XDS registry and repository embedded within the VNA.

"We are pleased to be recognized by KLAS as an international VNA leader," said Mark O'Herlihy, EMEA Director of Healthcare for Perceptive Software. "Our EMEA team has had great success helping NHS Trusts move to the next level of IT effectiveness managing clinical imaging and related content to benefit patients and physicians. Acuo's Universal Clinical Platform is an essential component of the content-based electronic patient record many of our healthcare customers are working to build." For more information on the KLAS report mentioned in this news story, visit www.KLASresearch.com. 

About KLAS

KLAS is a research firm on a global mission to improve healthcare delivery by enabling providers to be heard and to be counted. Working with thousands of healthcare executives and clinicians, KLAS gathers data on software, services, medical equipment, and infrastructure systems to deliver timely reports, trends, and statistical overviews. The research directly represents the provider voice and acts as a catalyst for improving vendor performance. KLAS was founded in 1996, and their staff and advisory board members average 25 years of healthcare information technology experience. For more information, go to www.KLASresearch.com, email marketing@KLASresearch.com or call 1-800-920-4109 to speak with a KLAS representative. Follow KLAS on Twitter @KLASresearch.

About Acuo Technologies

Acuo Technologies, now part of Lexmark's Perceptive Software (NYSE: LXK), was founded in 2000 with the objective of developing the first enterprise-wide collaborative Universal Clinical Platform (UCP) solution for medical image content, both DICOM and Non-DICOM. Today, Acuo supports implementations of UCP around the world, including locations in Africa, Australia, Europe, North America and South America. For more information on providing superior clinical content management and data migration while simplifying operations and reducing costs, visit www.acuotech.com.

DICOM is the registered trademark of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association for its standards publications relating to digital communications of medical information.