Varian Medical Systems Earns Top Marks in Oncology IT Study

(Palo Alto, CA,USA) was ranked first in an independent study released last week by Klas (Orem, UT, USA), a research firm that specializes in monitoring and reporting on the performance of healthcare vendors. Varian's Aria software, an information system for managing medical and radiation oncology practices, received top scores in study categories including: ease of use, quality of releases and updates, and compatibility with third-party products.

According to the June 2008 Oncology report, Varian Medical Systems is "considered by many providers to have the most developed and comprehensive oncology solution." The report additionally stated, "many Varian customers feel that the Aria suite is the most robust solution for medical and radiation oncology available on the market today."

Although Klas interviewed 11 potential vendors, only three had a sufficient number of active installations to qualify. Varian was the only vendor to score above the group average in all four of the report's major categories: product/technology indicators, service indicators, success indicators, and business indicators. Varian scored above competitors in 23 of the 40 indicators that the study measured. Some of the indicators for which Varian achieved top scores included: ease of use; quality of releases or updates; technology that is easy to implement and support; works with third-party producers; quality of implementation, training, and documentation; quality and timeliness of interfaces; helping job performance, and overall satisfaction with vendor/product.

All of the CIOs, managers, doctors, nurses, information technology (IT) directors, and other administrators and healthcare professionals surveyed about their experience with Varian's oncology information system reported that they consider Varian's system part of their organization's long-term plan, that they would buy Varian's product again, and would recommend Varian's product to a friend or peer.

The Klas study predicted that Varian would continue to be seen as one of the most complete medical and radiation oncology systems for some time to come. "We're gratified to receive top marks in an objective survey of our customers," said Dow Wilson, president of the company's Oncology Systems business. "It validates the work we're doing to offer treatment centers a versatile set of best-in-class clinical tools for fighting cancer."

Varian Medical Systems is a world-leading manufacturer of medical devices and software for treating cancer and other medical conditions with radiotherapy, radiosurgery, proton therapy, and brachytherapy. The company supplies informatics software for managing comprehensive cancer clinics, radiotherapy centers, and medical oncology practices. Varian is also a major supplier of tubes and digital detectors for X-ray imaging in medical, scientific, and industrial applications as well as X-ray imaging products for cargo screening and industrial inspection.

Klas is a research firm specializing in monitoring and reporting the performance of healthcare vendors.


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