2026 European Radiology Information System Playbook Sets Benchmarks for Order‑to‑Read, Image Liquidity, and AI Governance

Black Book Research releases a Europe-wide RIS Purchasing Playbook with contractable SLOs, best-fit vendor guidance, and an RFP scoring toolkit.

LONDON, UK / ACCESS Newswire / November 7, 2025 / Black Book Research today announced the publication of The 2026 European Radiology Information Systems (RIS) Purchasing Playbook, an evidence-based guide for hospital networks, outpatient radiology, and regional imaging programs navigating RIS, enterprise imaging, and AI decisions for 2026-2027. The report distills benchmarks from 543 qualified participants across Europe and translates them into measurable procurement targets, vendor positioning, country-level dynamics, and a ready-to-use RFP scoring toolkit.

The results are reported with a ±3.5% margin of error at the 95% confidence level.

“Europe’s imaging buyers aren’t procuring a PACS’ anymore, they’re procuring time-to-diagnosis, cross-site capacity, and governable AI at scale,” said Doug Brown, Founder of Black Book Research. “This Diagnostic Imaging IT Playbook gives executives and radiology leaders a concrete way to select vendors on outcomes: latency SLOs, report throughput, exchange success, AI auditability, resilience, and cost-to-serve.”

What’s inside the Playbook

Executive Summary & Market Truths (2026): why standards-first interoperability (IHE XDS-I/XCA-I, DICOMweb, HL7-FHIR), cloud-operable stacks, structured reporting, governable AI, and outcome-based managed services are now non-negotiable. (pp. 4-5)

Vendor Deep Dives: architecture maps, where each vendor wins, quantifiable value levers to contract, operating model, strengths/watchouts, and pointed RFP questions for Dedalus, Philips, GE HealthCare, Siemens Healthineers, Sectra, Agfa HealthCare, and CGM/VISUS. (pp. 14-24)

Country Heatmaps & Buying Dynamics: shortlists and procurement patterns across UK & Ireland, DACH, France, Nordics, Benelux, Italy, Iberia, Austria, Switzerland, and CEE. (pp. 26-30)

RFP Toolkit: a weighted feature matrix, scoring template, AI governance checklist (EU-ready), and a 4-6 week pilot script with go/no-go gates. (pp. 30-35)

Market Outlook (2026-2027): adoption curves for FHIR, DICOMweb, structured reporting, AI orchestration, cloud DR, and cybersecurity; plus ten predictions and KPIs that matter. (pp. 43-50)

2026 trends the report surfaces

• Standards-first interoperability is table-stakes (IHE XDS-I/XCA-I, DICOMweb, FHIR) with measurable SLOs for image liquidity

• Cloud-operable enterprise imaging moves from pilot to default consideration; zero-footprint access and DR evidence matter.

• Structured reporting + workflow automation unlock throughput and close the loop on follow-ups.

• AI must be governable: platformized deployment, model registry, performance monitoring, bias checks, audit trails, and rollback. (pp. 4-5, 32-34, 45-46)

• Managed services win where skills are thin – contracts measured on uptime, latency, report TAT, not ticket counts. (pp. 4-5, 46-47)

Top-rated & best-fit vendors (by use case)

Overall edge for 2026 procurement: Dedalus – RIS-anchored orchestration, in-pane structured reporting, pragmatic interoperability, and outcome-tied managed services. (pp. 36-40)

Cloud PACS performance & open AI: GE HealthCare (pp. 18-19, 39); Philips for cloud cadence & reporting UX (pp. 17-18, 39).

Cross-discipline enterprise (radiology + cardiology + pathology): Siemens Healthineers (pp. 20-21, 39-40).

Regional/national stability & cyber backbone: Sectra(p. 22). Archive/viewer standards-forward: Agfa HealthCare (p. 23). DACH-centric

Country-specific highlights (where the market is moving)

UK & Ireland: cloud + shared worklists normalize; frameworks bundle AI & managed services.

Germany (DACH): KHZG accelerates standards-first enterprise imaging with strict DR runbooks; vendor neutrality prized.

France: Ségur “Imagerie” funds RIS modernization & exchange conformance through 2027; private radiology leads.

Netherlands & Nordics: high digital maturity; insistence on clean IHE conformance, zero-footprint diagnostics, and green ops.

Belgium/Luxembourg: early public-cloud EI adopters with latency-aware routing & DR guarantees.

Italy, Iberia, CEE, Austria, Switzerland: region-scale consolidation, hybrid cloud DR, consent-aware integration, multilingual access, and cost-controlled migrations.

Unique data & buyer tools you can use today

• Feature Matrix (weighted 100%) and Scoring Template to copy into tenders; emphasizes Interoperability & Openness (20%), Diagnostic Workspace & UX (15%), AI Governance (15%), RIS Order-to-Read (10%), Cloud & Performance (10%), etc. (pp. 30-32)

• AI Governance Checklist (EU-ready) covering intended use, bias & drift monitoring, human-in-the-loop, rollback, audit export to SIEM, and safety incident response. (pp. 32-34)

• Pilot Script (4-6 weeks) with go/no-go gates: baseline, structured reporting + AI on, cross-site & DR test, business case. (p. 35)

• Ten Predictions for 2026-2027: structured reporting becomes default; AI orchestration consolidates; DR becomes a go-live gate; green IT metrics enter imaging contracts. (p. 49)

The 2026 European Radiology Information Systems Purchasing Playbook is available today from Black Book Research at https://blackbookmarketresearch.com/register-for-2026-black-book-state-of-healthcare-radiology-information-europe or contact research@blackbookmarketresearch.com

About Black Book Research

Founded in 2003, Black Book Research is an independent market intelligence and benchmarking organization focused exclusively on healthcare technology, services, and digital outcomes. Black Book does not accept paid endorsements or inclusion fees; its rankings reflect validated end-user data and operational evidence.

SOURCE: Black Book Research

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