How can teleradiology ensure safer radiology reporting?

While managing night shift coverage across radiology departments has historically proved challenging in recent years it has become increasingly common. However, concerns have been voiced about the quality of this care. Across NHS acute hospitals in England, diagnostic errors are projected to contribute annually to over eight thousand preventable hospital deaths[1]. The British Journal of Radiology reports that fatigue among radiologists is a key factor contributing to these errors, finding higher radiological reporting mistakes towards the end of shifts than at the beginning, with significant performance dips during overnight periods[2]. Ultimately, signalling additional round-the-clock support is required by hospital radiology departments to improved service safety.

It is for these reasons teleradiology company Vital Radiology is proud to offer 24/7 radiology routine and subspeciality reporting services to UK clinicians, referring hospitals and technologists. Through its Moonlight Service, Vital can provide full out-of-hours emergency reporting. In under a 30 minute time frame a consultant radiologist is connected to you in real-time and ready to be a part of your service offering. Vital can provide reports within 30 minutes for stroke and trauma and 60 minutes for all other examination types. With radiology teams located across the globe in locations like Australia and India, Vital can provide round-the-clock reporting services, without radiologists having to work overnight to meet reporting volumes. This helps to reduce pressure on overworked in-house radiologists’ teams and ensure higher-quality and timely reporting for patients.

All reporting at Vital is carried out by hand-picked GMC-registered and FRCR-qualified radiologists. Once a scan is received by Vital their unique auto filter technology ensures that all scans are directed to the most appropriate radiologist with training in that area. With all radiologists subject to regular clinical audits – 10% of their reading volume is second reported – Vital ensures no weaknesses are missed across the specialists being read by that radiologist. Ultimately, reducing the risk of potential reporting errors and prioritising the highest levels of patient care across the entirety of their services.

The group’s founder and ceo Dr Arun Chauhan discusses the rationale underlying Vital’s radiology offering saying: “I think for those working in medical imaging, it’s important to remember that the images we are looking at are not just an image, they are an image of an individual, a human being. By providing 24/7 expert reporting services through our Moonlight Service Vital strives to safely support the individual’s diagnostic journey at every hour with quality assurances in place to ensure definitive reports each time.”

To find out more about Vital Radiology’s services and how they can support your radiology teams contact info@vitalrad.co.uk.

[1] Hogan, H., Healey, F., Neale, G., Thomson, R., Vincent, C. & Black, N. (2012) ‘Preventable deaths due to problems in care in English acute hospitals: a retrospective case record review study’, BMJ Quality & Safety; 21(9), 737-745. Doi: 10.1136/bmjqs-2011-001159.

[2] Taylor-Philips, S. & Stinton, C. (2019) ‘Fatigue in radiology: a fertile area for future research’, The British Journal of Radiology; 92(1099). Doi: 10.1259/bjr.20190043.

This news story has been sponsored by the companies concerned and does not represent the views or opinions of RAD Magazine.