‘tis the Season!
New Year is almost upon us again, and it is that time of the year where I try to summarise what has happened to the industry over the past 12 months plus provide some loose inspirational words for the year end.
Well, 2025 (and looking into 2026) seem to have been the year of the (re-)procurement. Quite a few Trusts and Health Boards have been busy migrating or planning to migrate, and there is now a great amount of UK health data starting to be hung in the clouds. Opinions remain divided as to whether this is a unique opportunity to streamline estates, or whether it is reflective of a more ‘risky’ approach with exit-laden ‘surprise’ costs and loss of local control. What is for certain though is that suppliers prefer the greater profit margins for software-only sales and that the marketplace could now be expecting to see price stability or even decreases on the horizon.
AI continues to be a big money draw with many of the ongoing research projects into its utility underway, even if a couple of the major players exited the market.
In the supplier world, the ‘pay-to-play’ ‘Best in KLAS’ award for Best UK PACS 2025/2026 was again presented to Intelerad, who were then promptly bought over by GE Healthcare bringing a large cash pile to try to eat into Sectra’s present market domination. Both Fuji and Philips unwrapped a new RIS and AGFA made waves with their uniquely integrated scheduler.
Looking at the national survey outcomes, satisfaction with vendors however seemingly drastically decreased across the UK with customer service woes and extended resolution / service times being a top complaint. The move of some companies into ‘support silos’ seems to be compounding the issues a few Trusts are facing. Bands for PACS Team members seem to be rising, with several new 8a posts appearing over the older 7’s, and training budgets are reappearing for general Radiology staff to explore informatics more.
The professional groups year has seen output from all the main players - the RCR’s RIG SIG worked hard on updating the Medical Display Devices guidance alongside members of IPEM and other stakeholders. Due to demand, the PACS re-procurement tips and tricks primer from 2024 was also revised for wider audiences and published additionally as a freely downloadable project guide for Radiologists ( PACS procurement tips and tricks | The Royal College of Radiologists ). The BIR AI & Innovations SIG had another successful year with their range of AI knowledge and showcase events, the SCoR Radiology Informatics Advisory Group worked on Cloud PACS primers for those not keeping up with the on-prem/off-prem debate.
For the training front, 2025 brought one of our greatest numbers of trainees, in the highest number of venues across the UK including (only once mind!) a rare Central London session for a fantastic full-house session at the College.
This wraps-up 2025 from us. As always from the forum, thank you to everyone for the interesting discussions and participation in the continued development of the community. Thank you also to those who assist with the non-profit training sessions for the time and energy they invest in keeping me going too. The volunteer moderators, Rhidian and myself wish everyone a very Happy and Peaceful New Year 2026.
Alex.
