Comdisco Awards Integration Resources Contract to Provide Consulting Services for PACS Per Use Program.

Business Editors and Medical/Health Writers

LEBANON, N.J.--(BW HealthWire)--March 6, 2000

Integration Resources, Inc., a leader in PACS consulting with expertise in shared risk, fee-per-use financing arrangements, today announced an agreement with Comdisco Healthcare Group (CHG), to provide PACS planning and support services to CHG's clients. Comdisco (Rosemont, IL) is a leading provider of technology management services, including Managed Availability, Network Consulting and Distributed Systems Consulting. CHG plans to offer procedure-based financing and archival services for third party PACS to complement its other information technology and leasing services.

Kenneth Ostrowksy, Director of Procedural-Based Services at Comdisco, said CHG selected Integration Resources because the firm has a decade of hands-on experience in PACS consulting and has demonstrated the ability to solve the technology, interface and operational issues that can inhibit or impede performance.

"With such complex systems, there are numerous factors that can impact performance and therefore utilization. Prefetch capability, hanging protocols, and response times are just a few of them," said Ostrowsky. "By optimizing system performance, Integration Resources in effect reduces the risk of the investment both for the hospital and for Comdisco."

According to Gary Reed, President of Integration Resources, vendors see Comdisco as an ideal partner for fee-per-use PACS. "They have the financial strength to fund these multi-million dollar investments as well as the core competencies required to provide computer support, networks, disaster recovery, and archival services."

Comdisco's PACS Per Use Program will enable healthcare providers to implement leading vendors' PAC Systems without a major capital investment. The client wins because they get the system and support services they need through a single supplier, and don't have to worry about technology obsolescence, said Reed.

Procedure-based or pay-per-use financing works on an asset management model, which fixes variable costs of ownership, including all service, maintenance and upgrades in one cost per procedure. It enables healthcare providers to acquire state-of-the-art technology without the up-front costs, and allows them to use off-balance sheet accounting methods.

For more information on fee-per-use PACS, see the article, `PACS Per Use' in Decisions in Imaging Economics: November/December 1999, or visit Integration Resource's website at www.irpacs.com.