When it comes to primary care, teleradiology services refer to the use of phone calls, where the patient seeks an appointment with the doctor for remote advice about non-emergency and follow-ups for radiology, which does not require the doctor to physically see the patient. This absolutely does not replace face-to-face consultations, which is indispensable, but rather complements them. This article covers some of the applications of teleradiology.
How does teleradiology help?
The process of teleradiology includes the steps after the imaging process for diagnoses.
Minor consultations
The real role of this at present is the convenience of remote consultations that it offers to patients and doctors by doing away with physical visits to seek medical advice or treatment for matters that can be solved verbally. This is great for confirmations and follow-ups when dealing with any queries regarding previous physical consultations. It is also incredibly cost-saving in comparison to the process of waiting to see a doctor for something benign or minor.
Emergencies
While we think of teleradiology as being used for minor issues, it can also help patients reach doctors quickly for emergency consultations. This is of immense importance in the follow-ups and queries of patients with chronic ailments such as lupus or disabilities who need assistance. It can also help patients who need urgent help with dosage changes, prescription refills, lifestyle regimens, or even just access to group support can benefit from the convenience of teleradiology.
Patient monitoring
An added convenience of teleradiology consultations is that it makes it easier for health professionals to arrange follow-ups on their patients and their imaging results. It also makes it easier for doctors to access the online radiology records of their patients and keep information more sorted for diagnosis. It also produces more accurate insurance claims for the different procedures, medicines, etc, which can be accessed by all healthcare practitioners involving the patient in one consolidated space.
Second opinions
In today’s day and age, it is important to get a second opinion and even a third opinion for your radiology imaging. Seeing just one doctor is not enough in many cases. By providing second opinions more easily and faster, teleradiology consultations can also make the patient more assured of their radiology schedules and diagnoses. Finally, it produces better health outcomes, which is the primary goal of all health services.
Wrapping Up
That brings us closer to the prospect of teleradiology operations in better diagnosis and treatment. We’ve seen how teleradiology has been implemented in things like second opinions, billing, etc. However, it also has application in the entire process of imaging, diagnoses, and doctor-patient communications, so there aren’t any lapses in the accurate designation and detection of disease, and the patients are in safe hands.