Rural populations benefit in many ways, from a lower cost of living to a relaxed pace of life and less crime, but when it comes to medical imaging, the rural population is often lacking in available services.
Almost 60 million people live in rural areas, which is a significant portion of the population that requires healthcare services that urban residents can more easily obtain. For a rural person, scheduling medical tests such as having a complex radiology study completed can be challenging, which means a woman who self-detects a lump in her breast might be inclined to put off a visit to the radiologist.
The question becomes, what can rural healthcare providers offer that can more easily connect rural residents with the type of quality care non-rural residents receive?
Telehealth Options
Telehealth is widely regarded as a preferred option for expanding access and improving healthcare for rural residents. Telehealth reduces the challenges that people often face, whether it’s having the means to travel a long distance to receive care, schedule childcare or miss work due to the long process of seeking out medical services.
Teleradiology, one of the most common telehealth services, enables medical practices to expand their networks and connect with other providers. Among the most cited reasons for adopting teleradiology solutions include the following:
- Better consultation
- Less cost
- Quicker diagnoses
- No staffing hassles
- Access to many radiologists
- Services rendered 24 hours a day
The benefits of adopting a teleradiology solution are immediate. While there are many benefits to the healthcare provider, the process is crucial for patients who rely on medical imaging and resulting diagnostics to gain fast and appropriate treatment, whether it’s a tumor in the breast or a clogged artery.
Shortfalls and How to Make Up for Them
Teleradiology is not flawless. While the benefits far outweigh the shortcomings, a common complaint among the healthcare community is that they feel there is no accountability in the teleradiology process and that they often lack some visibility into the process. If you partner with the right provider of teleradiology services you can overcome the accountability concerns.
At OffSite Image Management, we have developed several radiology services that are aimed at offering advanced viewing capabilities. With TeleRAD360, you can drop your outdated platforms and integrate an advanced cloud-based solution that integrates RIS, imaging worklist management, voice recognition, report distribution, cloud diagnostic viewing and complete mobility.
Contact us and find out more about how we can bring top-notch medical imaging services to you.