Radiology has indeed come a long way since 1895, the year of the spectacular discovery of X-rays by German physicist Wilhelm Roentgen. It now plays an inherently crucial role in improved and better diagnosis and patient care.
The past few decades have seen the limits of imaging informatics being pushed beyond traditional boundaries thanks to several major changes in computer and communication technology. With the advent of new technologies, such as the World Wide Web, wireless connectivity, and, now, the ever-present social networks, momentous advancement has been made in the way radiological services can be delivered. The Internet has become a crucial gateway for electronic transmission and sharing of health-related data, something we today know as “e-Health”. Many types of e-Health are currently becoming available. In many hospitals, the electronic health record (EHR) is being introduced, which allows a complete electronic record of the patient’s health information. This EHR should not only automate and streamline the physician’s workflow but also allow patients to gain control over their health data through online portals.
The move from an analog to a digital working milieu put the radiologists at the front line of producing and distributing digital images. New dedicated software products were developed. One of the most important shifts being adopted by many healthcare institutions across the globe is a paper-free environment and the Picture Archive and Communication System (PACS) and Radiology Information System (RIS). These are truly remarkable steps in this direction. Radiologists employ the PACS to store myriads of image files which can be easily retrieved at any time in the patient management. Making lives extremely convenient, the entire database of images of all patients across all modalities is just a click away. It not just saves time but with the help of software solutions like RIS, it is now possible to keep a track record of every patient from scheduling appointments to diagnosis and treatment.
Transformative new technologies, many powered by cloud-based RIS-PACS, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning, promise to redefine the practice of radiology in ways that will considerably improve productivity, diagnostic quality, and medical treatment. Today, cloud-based computing in the imaging market has evolved from a service that provided cost-effective disaster recovery for archived data to fully featured PACS. It’s vendor neutral archiving services can address the needs of healthcare providers of all sizes, on the go.
Taking a look at AI, we need to identify AI’s strengths in analyzing visual images. Researchers train the algorithms to better detect potentially dangerous abnormalities, generating faster and more accurate insights to help guide clinicians’ treatment decisions. AI adoption is sure to ease the overwhelming workloads impeding the profession, facilitating radiologists to do what they’re best at and perform them better.
Going further ahead, we can examine Workflow orchestration technology too. This promises to boost efficiency and alleviate bottlenecks. By directing cases to the right recipient in the correct order, this technology optimizes the effectiveness of the read, especially in teleradiology settings. With the profession’s ever-increasing need for solutions that match demand with supply, a lot of organizations provide solutions that facilitate better collaboration across facilities for effective workflow orchestration.
Teleradiology is another field that is assisting well where streamlining workloads is concerned. Remote radiologic coverage and reliable telecom infrastructures means more radiologic analysis is being performed online to take care of workloads between hospitals. And as the field becomes progressively digitized, apprehensions regarding the security of radiology data accentuate the need for robust solutions that will not just prevent breaches but at the same time also safeguard patient information while complying with regulatory requirements.
Diagnostic images captured at the right place and at the right time give physicians, surgeons, and care centers an important tool to help provide better patient care and at a reasonable cost. For this reason, Telerad Tech has been building out solutions since 2009.
Telerad Tech was established with the goal of optimizing radiology productivity and improving patient outcome delivery through transformational medical imaging software solutions. Today, it is amongst the market leaders in providing integrated RIS-PACS software solutions for teleradiology, medical imaging centres, and hospitals of all sizes globally. Telerad Tech’s solutions cater to workflows needs across departments, including Radiology, Cardiology, Podiatry, Orthopedic, Chiropractic, Oncology and Veterinary.
We are today amongst the market leaders in providing RIS with integrated PACS with significant installations in both cloud and enterprise environment across 1500 facilities in 24 countries.
Our software solutions suite has been incubated, tested and perfected in a radiology ecosystem and are designed to address the unique needs of multiple care pathways across departments, including radiology, cardiology, dentistry, oncology, and veterinary. Our software has customizable workflow features, intelligent productivity tools & analytics and Vendor-Neutral Archive technology. It has strong patient security framework and integrates seamlessly with other systems for exchange and retrieval of electronic health information.
To enable physicians to consistently deliver optimal patient management and to augment the precious time of radiologists, Telerad Tech has also leveraged Artificial Intelligence (AI), for various radiology diagnostics.
We truly believe that the future is here
Technological development has undoubtedly prompted some anxiety among radiologists. But while tech adoption will inevitably alter the way radiologists work, technology’s clinical value will be in supplementing and adding to and not replacing or even displacing the professionals. Radiologists empowered by AI will only encounter a new, more efficient stage of radiology, helping to focus their time and attention on the most crucial elements of their job.
Also, we need to remember that image analysis is just one of the aspects of a radiologist’s job, other tasks, including discrepancy reviews, diagnostic reasoning, and patient-facing work such as invasive radiology, will still be performed by humans. Those tasks will simply be supported and enhanced by advancing technology.
The future of radiology is here, and the prediction clearly states that it will not only better health care but also the lives of all the stakeholders.
