One-off purchase, annual subscription, or priced per user, per modality or per site? The pricing unit — not just the headline figure — decides how fast the cost grows as you add users and equipment.
Usually the largest line item nobody budgets for. Moving years of studies means paying for volume (often per terabyte), format conversion, quality control and patient-record reconciliation. Price it explicitly.
Every connection to your RIS, EHR (DPI), HL7/DICOM feeds and SSO can be quoted separately. Confirm which interfaces are included and which are billed as projects.
Radiologists, technologists and clinicians all need training, and productivity dips during the switch. This human cost rarely appears on the licence quote — but it is real.
Running the old and new systems in parallel — and any downtime during the switch — carries a clinical and operational cost. Ask how the vendor guarantees continuity.
Annual maintenance, support and software upgrades — plus storage that keeps growing every year — are what you actually pay over 5 to 7 years, not the entry price.
What does it cost to leave? Data export in a standard format, and freedom from per-study egress fees, are almost always forgotten at purchase — and can dominate the true cost.
Sticker price vs total cost
The lowest licence quote is rarely the cheapest system. For a realistic comparison, reason in total cost of ownership (TCO) over 5–7 years — licence, data migration, interfaces, training, recurring maintenance and exit — not the entry ticket. A predictable, all-inclusive model usually beats a low headline price wrapped in a long list of extras.
Why hospitals trust Telemis
For over 25 years, Telemis has migrated hospitals to TM-PACS & TM-MACS without the budget surprises. Our All-Inclusive License & Service model is built for cost predictability:
- All-inclusive licensing — a site licence covering unlimited users, modalities and future integrations, with annual upgrades included; no per-modality or per-user surprises.
- Data migration handled — we migrate your legacy studies as part of the project, not as an open-ended extra billed later.
- No lock-in — your data stays yours, in standard formats, so you are never held hostage at renewal.
- Proven at scale — powering 450+ reference sites across Europe, with responsive local support throughout the transition.