Technology-Assisted Virtual Consultation for Medical Imaging |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Radiology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, New York;1. Department of Radiology, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, District of Columbia;2. National Center for Human Factors in Healthcare, MedStar Health, Washington, District of Columbia;3. Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, District of Columbia;4. Imaging Informatics, MedStar Medical Group Radiology, Washington, District of Columbia;1. Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York;2. Department of Radiology, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York;1. Department of Radiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina;2. Departments of Pediatrics and Internal Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina;1. University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California;2. Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island;3. University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois;4. University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, Madison, Wisconsin;5. Center for Diagnostic Imaging, St Louis, Missouri;6. University of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama;7. Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota;8. Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts |
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| Abstract: | PurposeThe aim of this study was to report the investigators’ preliminary experience in the implementation of a “virtual consult” (VC) system enabling consultations between radiologists and referring physicians in physically remote locations throughout their enterprise.MethodsReferrers and radiologists directly access the VC through the electronic medical record and PACS, respectively. Referrers may click a VC link associated with any examination report to instant message the appropriate subspecialist radiologist, who receives an alert allowing automatic loading of the examination. The radiologist and referrer may then discuss the examination via instant messaging as well as launch a real-time screen-share of the radiologist’s PACS display, with the option for either participant to control the display. Radiologists’ and referrers’ feedback was evaluated after the institution’s first 110 VC sessions.ResultsReferrers’ most common specialties were emergency medicine (27.3%) and internal medicine (13.6%); radiologists’ most common subspecialties were abdominal (33.6%) and thoracic (16.4%) imaging. Screen-shares lasted on average 12 ± 16 minutes. From 80% to 90% of referrers agreed that the VC was easy to use, improved their understanding of the radiology report, affected patient management, and enhanced radiologists’ role. Referrers found the VC to be particularly useful when traditional consultation was difficult because of location or time constraints or when seeking a quick response to a targeted question. Radiologists recognized referrers’ positive response to the VC, although they tended to view the VC as disruptive to normal workflow.ConclusionsThe VC addresses a key challenge in the current era of digital radiology practice and provides added value to referrers, though continued radiologists’ workflow optimization is warranted. |
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| Keywords: | Radiologist radiology practice referring physician consultation digital radiology |
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