With an aging population, people delaying medical procedures because of the spiraling costs associated with a privatized system and more medical students going into more profitable fields such as cosmetic surgery, the number of practicing radiologists has been shrinking even as demand is rising. Teleradiology makes access to these medical professionals easier than ever. Through the use of Web based PACS (Picture Archive and Communication Systems), medical images can be distributed securely over the Internet. This is the basis of teleradiology; thanks to this increasingly-affordable technology, radiologists are no longer limited by location.

Driven by aging population, increased medical requirements in remote locations and technology advancements, world market for telemedicine is projected to exceed $18 billion by the year 2015. Application of telemedicine is expanding virtually across all the medical areas. Telemedicine currently finds application in majority of medical domains including radiology, cardiology, dermatology, psychiatry, dentistry, pediatrics and pathology, among others.

The health-care industry is about to undergo a global revolution driven by a force it can no longer resist: information technology.

HIMSS recently published a report on the adoption of Electronic Healthcare Records in various countries around the world.

The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust revealed in an email to all staff that it has invited Euromedic UK, described as a pan-European healthcare company, to look at the way radiology services are provided at the Infirmary, as well as Fairfield General, North Manchester General and the Royal Oldham.

Powerful medical applications designed for the Apple's popular iPhone are also appearing. One, a unique, touch-screen iPhone-Teleradiology application, allows physicians to navigate through diagnostic images from plane, train or golf cart with workstation functionality.

Thursday, September 18, 2008 

The outsourcing of medical services enables patients to get the best medical attention from specialised doctors. State and federal legislations ensure that the doctors providing these medical outsourcing services have been properly trained and licensed.

A paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine (10 April) reported that telemedicine was being used in the US for everything from diagnostics to direct care.

Irish healthcare company Centric Health plans to invest 10 million in developing an international radiology base in Ireland.

Around 1300 extra consultant radiologists are needed in England if the NHS is to meet the increasing demand for emergency interventional treatments, diagnostic imaging and screening, warn doctors’ leaders.

Northern Ireland’s Department of Health and Social Services is getting set to issue a tender for the supply of telehealth services to cover 5,000 people by 2011.

I work in a small rural hospital. Like most small hospitals, we had suffered from opportunism, instability, eccentricism and perpetual turnover with on-site radiologists for ages. When the final straw came last summer, we switched to Nighthawk full-time. Yes, we are primarily a teleradiology hospital.