How teleradiology services are tackling slow turnaround times

In addition to long waits for imaging examinations, The Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) reports that many patients are also waiting weeks for their imaging results due to growing shortages in the radiology workforce[1]. The RCR clinical radiology census report highlights that these workforce shortages are substantial among radiologists with subspeciality expertise, with 90% of clinical directors reporting that they were unsure whether they could continue providing full radiology services as a result. Without immediate action to fill these radiologist gaps, waiting times for imaging interpretation and intervention is projected to increase – delaying the patient journey, and ultimately adversely impacting patient outcomes[2].

Teleradiology company Vital Radiology are providers of 24/7 reporting volume imaging services offering rapid report turnaround times ranging from 30 minutes for emergency services to 7-day backlog reporting. All reporting at Vital is carried out by hand-picked GMC-registered and FRCR-qualified radiologists, with experience working across the NHS. Through utilising a diverse team of expert radiologists Vital can offer subspeciality reports across multiple modalities and anatomies. This includes, but is not limited to, musculoskeletal, neuro, paediatrics, cardiology and hepatobiliary. Using Vital’s unique technology auto filter all scans requiring expert review are automatically routed to the most appropriate radiologist with training and experience in that area. This approach ensures more timely and high-quality radiology results for patients.

Alongside offering subspeciality reporting, Vital offers routine reporting which provides an additional layer of support to aid busy in-house radiology teams. With no minimum reporting volume required, Vital can adapt to constantly fluctuating volumes and busy periods as needed through flexibly increasing their reporting capacity – scaling their service to meet changing demand. This flexible approach hopes to reduce the current pressure facing hospital radiology teams and ensure that patients’ radiology needs are supported across the entirety of the imaging spectrum.

The group’s founder and ceo Dr Arun Chauhan highlights that it was these slow report turnaround times which initially inspired him to create Vital Radiology, saying: “There is a huge backlog and bottleneck as pictures are continuously taken, but there are very few people who can read and report. Even when the scan is done, the report doesn’t come for a long time, which causes a delay in treatment. It was my recognition of this problem and my desire to provide a solution that could accelerate the diagnostics and diagnosis process and therefore provide better care to the public which acted as my inspiration to venture into the medical imaging niche.”

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

[1] The Guardian (2022) ‘Patients forced to wait months for vital NHS diagnostic tests’ Available at  Patients forced to wait months for vital NHS diagnostic tests | NHS | The Guardian (Accessed January 31, 2023)

[2] The Royal College of Radiologists (2021) RCR Clinical radiology census report. Available at  RCR Clinical radiology census report 2021 | The Royal College of Radiologists (Accessed January 31, 2023)

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