Radiology is the use of radiation for different types of "imaging," including X-rays. Imaging simply means creating an image of the inner configuration of a dense object, such as part of the human body, with the use of radiant energy.
Radiology is also sometimes called radioscopy or Clinical Radiology, the latter due to the many uses of imaging techniques for diagnosis as well as treatment of injury or disease. Imaging includes X-rays, radiant dye, ultrasound, CT scan and MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging.
In the medical field, radiology is a specialization. A radiologist reads or interprets an image to pinpoint an injury, determine how serious the injury is or help detect abnormalities such as tumors.
This is why patients frequently have to wait for the "official" results of an X-ray or other image even if the primary caregiver has reviewed it. A specialist in radiology must also interpret the results and consult with the physician or offer a report of his or her findings in order to achieve an accurate diagnosis.
Clinics and medical facilities that do not employ an on-site radiologist must send the image out for interpretation and await the findings.
Radiology is an important component of diagnosis and treatment, so the radiologist has a great responsibility to obtain clear, distinct images and review them with extreme care. Faulty images or interpretations can lead to missing things or even to misdiagnosis of the patient's condition.
Obtaining high quality images through radiology can be difficult when a patient is in pain or suffering from illness, so a radiologist or imaging tech must have an excellent bedside manner.
A radiologist is a doctor who is a specialist in radiology, leads the radiology team. Radiologists work side-by-side with primary care physicians, pediatricians, obstetricians, surgeons, oncologists, and many other doctors to determine the best treatment plan for each patient.
Radiologists are highly-skilled doctors who specialize in reading and interpreting images from diagnostic systems, such as X-Ray, ultrasound, or magnetic resonance (MR).
These specialists produce reports to doctors that assist them in deciding on treatment options for their patients. As critical as the radiologist's role is in the treatment process, many areas of the country are experiencing an acute shortage of radiologists.
With the specialization and advancement in the medical science, the need for specialized radiologist is increasing. One reason is that today, some MRI, CT, and X-ray studies are super-specialized for areas of the body such as the brain, spine, shoulders, and knees, depending upon the case.
A neurosurgeon would like to go through a CT Images interpretation by a neuroradiologist likewise for a Paediatric doctor who prefers the report of Paediatric radiologist. But the fact remains the same that there is acute shortage of such specialized individuals. In our state there is no radiologist who has a sub specialization.
Shortage of radiologist may mean, missing out the vital inputs that a patient would have obtained if only they could interpreted.
With the ever increasing populations, the numbers of people getting themselves treated are ever increasing. So is the requirement for the radiologist too is increasing. The healthcare scenario is not the same as it used to be a decade earlier. How do we overcome this problem is an issue worth addressing.
Teleradiology is the answer to the crunch of radiologist we are facing.
With advancement in telecommunications and computer soft ware have led to the development of radiology image transfer systems. Radiologists may now report radiographs at a site distant from that of the examination, in some cases almost instantaneously.
Computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and ultrasonography may also be supervised from afar.
These include systems that transmit real time images and video systems that enable interactive supervision from a radiologist at a distant site.
With teleradiology, patients can quickly have diagnostic imaging interpreted without requiring a radiologist on site. Within 24 hours, doctors can have interpretations and begin patient treatment. Teleradiology services allow hospitals to treat patients round the clock.
Teleradiology is about bringing the distant expert to your door step.
It breaks geographical and time barrier and helps achieve accurate diagnosis in the shortest possible time.
Benefits to the patient:
- Because of teleradiology, patients can be diagnosed and effectively treated at any time of the day or night, with a diagnosis provided from a super specialty centre in minimum time.
- The quality of care delivered by an experienced specialist radiologist real time.
- A specialty opinion is delivered to locations where the expertise is otherwise unavailable is an added benefit.
- For complex CT Scan interpretation we need not waste time in traveling and long appointments, the same facilities can be availed at your doorsteps.
- High end experts' opinion can be obtained from the hospital premises itself.
- In house radiologist can seek experts second opinion from a specialize unit without transferring the patient.
Shija Hospitals and Research Institute, Langol in its endeavor to bring the world class healthcare at the doorstep at an affordable cost has initiated the teleradiology project in a collaborative effort with Max Healthcare, New Delhi.
Today high end radiologist expertise can be obtained from Shija Max Telemed Centre.
Today availing the services of high end radiologist is no longer a distant dreams, it's a reality.
Santosh Shekhar, Executive-Business Development at Shija Hospitals and Research Institute, contributes for the first time to e-pao.net
He can be reached at [email protected]
This article was webcasted on August 17th, 2006
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