Horos should not be used to store important images

We’ve had a flurry of emails and inquiries over the past few months of users that somehow lost their images that were stored in Horos. It turns out most of these are recoverable. However, it is both disruptive and expensive to make that happen. While Horos is a great tool for viewing and reviewing medical images, it was not intended to be a PACS. We always suggest the following:

1. Store important images in a proper PACS. You PACS may be an on-premises purpose-
   built storage system for your images, or it may be a cloud-based system. Either will
   work fine for long term storage of images.
2. Back up your PACS. A PACS is an appropriate device for the storage of important medical
   images. However, hardware devices will fail. Be sure that everything that is important to
   you, even if these are just a small number of studies, are backed up, preferably offsite.
   A cloud backup is a perfect location for this backup. Clouds are by-definition, at a off-
   premises location. Should something happen to your local PACS, your images will always
   be available. For immediate access to cloud-based studies, be sure your cloud storage is
   a PACS. Otherwise, it may take a while to download the files and reimport them into
   your local PACS or Horos workstation for viewing.

Pick the right tool for the job

Just because Horos can store images, doesn’t mean you should use it as your image repository.
Picking the right tool for the job – a PACS for the storage of medical image – will save you time
and expense when it is important to retain and access those medical images that are important
to your practice.

If you need assistance to setup a PACS on-premises or in the cloud, contact Purview’s support
team at support@purview.net or call +1 800-501-1537. We have very cost-effective solutions
for all your imaging needs.