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Radiology is a critical branch of medicine, one that is needed across almost 80% of all patient pathways. Yet a shortage of radiologists persists across Australia, with ‘a disproportionately high number of clinical radiologists in the major cities’, making radiologists in rural Australia particularly scarce. According to the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR), only 12% of clinical radiologists are located in regional and rural areas.1
This disparity meant that patients from rural communities face significant delays in diagnosis and treatment due to the shortage of radiologists. Teleradiology, the practice of transmitting radiological images and reports over long distances, has emerged as a powerful tool to address this challenge.
Everlight Radiology is a leading provider of teleradiology services in Australia. Whether our customer is a large hospital in a metropolitan area, a district hospital or multipurpose health service (MPHS) in a rural setting, it provides access to more than 250 RANZCR trained radiologists. Our network of Consultant Radiologists has specialists across all areas, including Emergency, MSK, Neurology, Gynaecology, Oncology, GIGU, Vascular, Paediatric, Urology, Head and Neck, PET CT, Nuclear Medicine and Cardiac CT.
Our teleradiology model enables any hospital – large or small, whether they have an in-house radiology team or not – to quickly access a huge bank of experienced radiologists, including ‘sub specialty’. Our Consultant Radiologists either work from one of our hubs based in major cities (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth) or, increasingly, they work from their own home.
This means of connecting the expertise of specialist radiologists to rural patients is changing healthcare. RANZCR and the professional bodies acknowledge teleradiology has been instrumental in improving patient outcomes and called it “an important part of modern healthcare.”[1]
The adoption of teleradiology benefits rural communities chiefly by unlocking access to faster diagnosis and treatment. By reducing turnaround times for radiology reports, teleradiology can expedite the diagnostic process and lead to more efficient treatment plans. Even small rural facilities can access a wide network of radiologists at any time of the day and night. The speed of responding to diagnostic imaging is critical and can be life-saving; for example, for a stroke patient every second counts.
But it also cost-effective, as teleradiology can help reduce the need for in-house consultants or registrars at major tertiary hospitals working overnight, as healthcare providers pay on a per-report basis. Everlight Radiology is also in a position to make use of the latest AI software which further drives efficiencies, for example by helping with ‘workflow’ (organising radiologists work from most urgent to least urgent) and giving a ‘second pair of eyes’ on critical reports. As technology continues to advance, we can expect teleradiology to play an even more significant role in healthcare delivery, further enhancing diagnostic accuracy service delivery.
Unfortunately, there are still significant issues in the provision of diagnostic services in rural Australia, with a lack of MRI and CT scanners in more remote areas. This is partly due to high costs and logistical challenges for installing and maintaining equipment, as well as recruiting the healthcare professionals to operate the machines. The Australian government has been working to address the disparity. For example, the Stronger Rural Health Strategy hopes to improve access to MRI services in rural areas by deregulating MRI Medicare equipment eligibility requirements.
Teleradiology can help bridge the gap in access to high quality healthcare by ensuring that patients in remote communities have access to the same quality of radiology care as their city-dwelling counterparts.
[1] https://www.ranzcr.com/component/edocman/media-release-new-standards-for-teleradiology/viewdocument/846?Itemid=424
