Patterns of use and satisfaction with a university-based teleradiology system

Abstract

zona has been operating a teleradiology program for almost 2 years. The goal of this project was to characterize the types of cases reviewed, to assess radiologists" satisfaction with the program, and to examine case turnaround times. On average, about 50 teleradiology cases ate interpreted each month. Computed tomography (CT) cases are the most common type of case, constituting 65% of the total case volume. Average turnaround time (to generate a "wet read" once a case is received) is about 1.3 hours. Image quality was rated as generally good to excellent, and the user interface as generally good. Radiologists" confidence in their diagnostic decisions is about the same as reading films in the clinical environment. The most common reason for not being able to read teleradiology images is poor image quality, followed by lack of clinical history and not enough images. Copyright 9 1999 by W.B. Saunders CompanyT HE PRACTICE OF RADIOLOGY has been changing dramatically over the past few years. Teleradiology is becoming more prevalent as a means of reaching patients in rural areas. ~-3 As the practice of teleradiology grows, so does the need to maintain good quality control and assessment procedures. Some important aspects of quality control are: how quickly are teleradiology cases read anda report generated for the referring site, how confident are the radiologists in their diagnostic decisions, and how do the radiologists rate the quality of the images and the teleradiology system. The goal of this study was to assess these variables in the context of the teleradiology application of the Arizona Telemedicine Program. 4 The teleradiology program provides specialist support to rural hospitals and other radiology departments associated with the University Medical Center. Four sites in Arizona are currently supported with a dedicated teleradiology system: two local hospitals within the city of Tucson, and two rural hospitals in eastern central Arizona. Services include specialty consul- Telemedicine Network. Two of the dial-up sites will convert to high-speed transmission in the near future. In general, the residents in the Radiology Department do the wet read and provide an initial report for the referring site. Staff radiologists over read all cases and compile the final report. Teleradiology cases are read 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Most cases are received in the evening and night hours, but a number of cases are received for interpretation during the day. MATERIALS AND METHODSTo evaluate turnaround times (time from receiving a case to the time a wet read is conducted), we examined the teleradiology log book kept by the department. This log book records every teleradiotogy case that is sent to the Radiology Department for consult, and includes the type of case, number of images, date, and time received. The date and time each case is read out is recorded on the wet read report form that is generated for each case and faxed back to the sending site. To evaluate how the radiologists feel about the teleradiology syste...

The Effectiveness of Service Delivery Initiatives at Improving Patients’ Waiting Times in Clinical Radiology Departments: A Systematic Review

“…Kennedy et al [2] found that teleradiology improved RTAT. A second [128] teleradiology study also reported positive findings. The results of both studies suggest that teleradiology might improve RTAT, however, this must be balanced against other quality parameters such as costs and referring clinicians' satisfaction [164].…”

“…Two (3.5 % of 57) studies on teleradiology met the inclusion criteria. Both studies found that teleradiology improved RTAT [2,128]. For example, the proportion of reports completed within 40 min increased from 34 (95 % CI 29, 38) to 43 % (95 % CI 39, 47) pre-and postintervention, respectively, p<0.01 [2].…”

“…For example, the proportion of reports completed within 40 min increased from 34 (95 % CI 29, 38) to 43 % (95 % CI 39, 47) pre-and postintervention, respectively, p<0.01 [2]. The two studies used different research designs: controlled pre-and post-intervention design [2] and controlled post-intervention design [128]. Both studies measured RTAT in using different timelines.…”

Teleradiology: current perspectives

“…The main reason for this is that digitized images generally are of poorer quality which leads to reduced diagnostic confidence. 3,29 When digitizers are used, there is evidence that for the most part digitizers are fairly equivalent in terms of acceptable contrast and low geometric distortion (even the less expensive non-radiology specific ones), thus there are circumstances where these solutions are acceptable. 30 Even with digitally acquired images, however, there is considerable variability in the quality of images between sites, both as a function of the basic imaging procedures and the equipment used, so users need to be aware of these variations and account for them during the interpretation process.…”

Teleradiology- Easy Accessibility of Radiological Services for Diagnosis- Our Experience

“…The main reason for this is that digitized images generally are of poorer quality which leads to reduced diagnostic confidence. 4,5 When digitizers are used, there is evidence that for the most part digitizers are fairly equivalent in terms of acceptable contrast and low geometric distortion (even the less expensive non-radiology specific ones), thus there are circumstances where these solutions are acceptable. 6 Even with digitally acquired images, however, there is considerable variability in the quality of images between sites, both as a function of the basic imaging procedures and the equipment used, so users need to be aware of these variations and account for them during the interpretation process.…”