Teleradiology in Italy: results of an online survey

Transcription

1 Teleradiology in Italy: results of an online survey Poster No.: B-1044 Congress: ECR 2015 Type: Scientific Paper Authors: F. Coppola, E. Neri, D. Regge ; Bologna/IT, Pisa/IT, Turin/IT Keywords: Computer applications, Teleradiology, Computer ApplicationsTeleradiology, Quality assurance DOI: /ecr2015/B Any information contained in this pdf file is automatically generated from digital material submitted to EPOS by third parties in the form of scientific presentations. References to any names, marks, products, or services of third parties or hypertext links to thirdparty sites or information are provided solely as a convenience to you and do not in any way constitute or imply ECR's endorsement, sponsorship or recommendation of the third party, information, product or service. ECR is not responsible for the content of these pages and does not make any representations regarding the content or accuracy of material in this file. As per copyright regulations, any unauthorised use of the material or parts thereof as well as commercial reproduction or multiple distribution by any traditional or electronically based reproduction/publication method ist strictly prohibited. You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold ECR harmless from and against any and all claims, damages, costs, and expenses, including attorneys' fees, arising from or related to your use of these pages. Please note: Links to movies, ppt slideshows and any other multimedia files are not available in the pdf version of presentations. Page 1 of 21

2 Purpose This study has the purpose to obtain an overview of the current applications of Teleradiology (TR) in Italy and to evaluate the radiologist's current opinion about it and the possible future usage of this technique. The diffusion of teleradiology is closely associated to the distribution of PACS systems. According to the e-health Benchmarking III report of the European Commission, PACS availability is highest in Northern Europe (i.e. >95% of health facilities have one) while it is still scarcely available in some Southern EC countries (Table 1 on page 3). Page 2 of 21

3 Images for this section: Table 1 Page 3 of 21

4 Methods and materials A web-based 19 questions survey, created by two Italian radiologists (FC, DR) and improved by suggestions from a multidisciplinary group of experts, was sent to all active radiologists working in Italy, in both private and public hospitals, members of Italian Society of Radiology (SIRM). The first section of questions was aimed at collecting informations on the geographical location, age, institution and working position of radiologists. The second one included questions on the working environment of radiologists. The third one was related to their experience with teleradiology. The final one was designed to understand more in depth the opinion of the interviewed on teleradiology. Multiple answers were allowed in five questions. Each individual could fill the survey form only once (Table 2 on page 5 Table 3 on page 6 Table 4 on page 7 Table 5 on page 8 Table 6 on page 9 Table 7 on page 10 Table 8 on page 11 Table 9 on page 12). Two reminders were sent respectively after one week from the survey's opening and the final day. The survey remained online for two weeks. The majority of answers were obtained the day of survey's opening and the days of two reminders (Table 10 on page 5). Survey Monkey statistical tools were used for the analysis of quantitative data. Page 4 of 21

5 Images for this section: Table 10: The majority of answers were obtained the day of survey's opening and the days of two reminders. Page 5 of 21

6 Table 2: Italian Survey on Teleradiology Page 6 of 21

7 Table 3: Italian Survey on Teleradiology Page 7 of 21

8 Table 4: Italian Survey on Teleradiology Page 8 of 21

9 Table 5: Italian Survey on Teleradiology Page 9 of 21

10 Table 6: Italian Survey on Teleradiology Page 10 of 21

11 Table 7: Italian Survey on Teleradiology Page 11 of 21

12 Table 8: Italian Survey on Teleradiology Page 12 of 21

13 Table 9: Italian Survey on Teleradiology Table 14: Percentage of responders by regions Page 13 of 21

14 Page 14 of 21

15 Results A total of 1599 radiologists, corresponding at 17% of all Italian radiologists, participated to the online survey. The majority of participants were from the north of Italy (43%), followed by the center (30%) and the south (27%) (Table 11 on page 16). The common opinion of Italian radiologists about TR is generally positive and the large majority of them believe in a future application of TR (81%) (Table 12 on page 17). The most common usage of TR in Italy is intra-organisational or intra-institutional (80%), while the second one is 'on call' preliminary emergency reading from home during nights and holidays (37%). Neuroradiology represents approximately one third of all requests for a second opinion (Table 13 on page 17). Clinical informations and exam reports are sent via RIS in approximately 50 % of cases; mobile devices are rarely adopted for reporting (5%). However, many radiologists have doubts about TR, in particular they think that TR is too impersonal, with no contact with patient (40%), insufficient integration between patient history and previous studies (39%), and insufficient communication with referring clinicians (39%). Finally, Italian radiologists fear to lose control over their business (63%) and to create an instability in the job market with, as a consequence, a reduction of radiologists' income. Page 15 of 21

16 Images for this section: Table 11: Percentage of responders by region. Page 16 of 21

17 Table 9: Italian Survey on Teleradiology Table 13: What are the disciplines for which do you usually ask a second opinion? Table 12 Page 17 of 21

18 Conclusion The majority of Italian radiologists are on favour of TR, however they have concerns that it may further reduce communication with referring clinicians ad patients and create an instability over radiologists' business. Page 18 of 21

19 Personal information Francesca Coppola, MD, S Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, Bologna, Italy Secretary of Informatic Radiology Section of SIRM francesca.coppola@aosp.bo.it francesca_coppola@hotmail.com Page 19 of 21

20 References 1)ESR white paper on teleradiology: an update from the teleradiology subgroup, European Society of Radiology (ESR), Insights Imaging (2014) 5:1-8. 2)Ranschaert ER, Barneveld Binkhuysen FHB (2012) European teleradiology now and in the future: results of an online survey. Insights Imaging 4: )Deloitte & Ipsos Belgium (2011) ehealth Benchmarking III SMART 2009/0022 Final Report )Ross P, Sepper R, Pohjonen H (2010) Cross-border teleradiology-experience from two international teleradiology projects. Eur J Radiol 73: )Benjamin M, Aradi Y, Shreiber R (2010) From shared data to sharing workflow: Merging PACS and teleradiology. Eur J Radiol 73:3-9. 6)European Society of Radiology 2009 (2010) The future role of radiology in healthcare. Insights Imaging 1: )Dixon AK, FitzGerald R (2008) Outsourcing and teleradiology: potential benefits, risks and solutions from a UK/European perspective. J Am Coll Radiol 5: )Rosenberg C, Langner S, Rosenberg B, Hosten N (2011) Medizinische und rechtliche Aspekte der Teleradiologie in Deutschland. Rofo 183: )Levin DC, Rao VM (2011) Outsourcing to teleradiology companies: bad for radiology, bad for radiologists. J Am Coll Radiol 8: )Ross P (2011, September) Pros and cons of international teleladiology services. Presentation held at MIR annual scientific meeting, Nice. 11)Barneveld Binkhuysen FH, Ranschaert ER (2011) Teleradiology: evolution and concepts. Eur J Radiol 78: Page 20 of 21

21 12)Lienemann B, Hodler J, Luetolf M, Pfirrmann CWA (2005) Swiss teleradiology survey: present situation and future trends. Eur Radiol 15: )Rapporti ISTISAN, Roma, October-Ddecember )SurveyMonkey web-based survey tool. Accessed June Available via 15)Rylands-Monk F (2011) France acts on teleradiology to ensure ethics and quality. Available via aspx? sec=sup&sub=ris&pag=dis&itemid= Accessed 14 July )Silva E, Breslau J, Barr RM, Liebscher LA et al. ACR White Paper on Teleradiology Practice: A Report From the Task Force on Teleradiology Practice. J Am Coll Radiol 2013; 10(8): )Directive 2011/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2011 on the application of patients' rights in cross-border healthcare. OJ L 88, 2011, p )The Royal College of Radiologists. The Regulation of Teleradiology. A position statement by The Royal College of Radiologists. London: The Royal College of Radiologists, )The Royal College of Radiologists. Standards for the communication of critical, urgent and unexpected significant radiological findings, Second edition. London: The Royal College of Radiologists, )The Royal College of Radiologists. Standards and recommendations for the reporting and interpretation of imaging investigations by non-radiologist medically qualified practitioners and teleradiologists. London: The Royal College of Radiologists, Page 21 of 21