Michael Myers, MD

Teleradiology offers a number of benefits to radiology practices. For smaller groups, it can serve as a release valve to help bridge staffing gaps by providing coverage outside of regular office hours during overnights. It can also provide a work/life balance for doctors, while still maintaining a commitment to client service. Finally, teleradiology helps practices meet the needs of their client base without absorbing the overhead of hiring additional personnel to meet this need.

Partnering with a teleradiology provider is a decision that shouldn’t be taken lightly - especially for small and mid-sized groups. After all, a teleradiology provider will serve a practice’s surrogate to clients, so the margin of error must be small to avoid jeopardizing business relationships. For an ideal fit that yields dividends, it’s important to conduct thorough due diligence to identify the right partner with the right capabilities that understands the unique needs of smaller practices.

Here are a few elements to consider when finding a teleradiology provider:

: First and foremost, providers should have proven expertise working with small practices. Large providers trying to scale down services to obtain business from a smaller practice might fall short, offering resources intended for much larger entities that don’t match. A successful track record of working with smaller practices is a must.

: Just because a practice is small shouldn’t mean they have to clamor for attention. A small practice should expect a dedicated client contact from their teleradiology provider to facilitate their requests from a service and clinical perspective. Responsiveness is key.

: High staff turnover makes it difficult to cultivate working relationships that can streamline communications and improve service to the practice and patients. To that end, staff retention is an important consideration. Teleradiologists should also be U.S.-based to benefit from high quality standards, consistency and accessibility.

: A teleradiology provider should have a history of fiscal stability and longevity. After all, it would be a waste of time and money if a provider went out of business, or was suddenly acquired, which can alter the working relationship significantly.

: Teleradiology is a unique discipline that requires institutional knowledge to be successful. It should not be a tertiary line of business. As such, it’s important to work with a group whose sole focus is teleradiology, with the staff and experience to support it. This is also important because a group with a “diverse” business model could present a threat to their client’s traditional dayside business.

: Because smaller practices might not have technology and expertise in place (such as a VPN and T1 lines), they need a provider with the resources to help them leverage teleradiology services, along with guidance to keep systems operational.

Keeping these measures in mind while searching for a teleradiology provider can help avoid serious missteps that could create a multitude of headaches. There should never be any question about a partner’s capabilities, loyalties or commitment to a practice. However, the right partner can benefit a practice from a clinical, HR and operational standpoint, while providing the bandwidth to help a business grow.

Michael Myers, MD, is a co-founder of NightShift Radiology, a national teleradiology provider established in 2001. 

Articles

NighShift Radiology co-founder makes a case for teleradiology for small practices and offers guidance for selecting a provider.

Teleradiology for Small Practices: Finding a Partner

For many radiology groups today, caution still exists when considering aligning with a teleradiology practice. This uncertainty ranges from a perceived threat to their business, to quality assurance and access concerns. While there are a variety of issues that could serve as potential roadblocks, in reality, teleradiology offers tangible advantages, such as reduced overhead, improved morale and the capacity to grow a practice.

Let’s face it, working overnights is typically not viewed positively among radiologists, and it can wreak havoc from a staffing and operational perspective if performed internally. After the discipline of teleradiology emerged in 2000 focusing on a support capacity, some large national practices eventually merged with a different goal in mind. To maximize profits, their venture capitalist-backed ownership tried to change the model by pursuing daytime hours in an attempt to replace conventional radiology groups.

Now, however, teleradiology is returning to its original intent. With concerns over quality control and overall commitment, there has been a shift toward more traditional teleradiology specialists who are content with a purely supportive role. This shift should create a renewed interest in teleradiology for many radiology groups.

Beyond the obvious lack of desire to work overnights, there usually isn’t enough volume to support the expense of a dedicated professional anyway - typically, only five to 15 reads are necessary each night. As such, paying a high salaried physician doesn’t make the most use of their skills and is far too expensive. What’s more, while teleradiologists are usually focused on preliminary interpretations only, arriving at final reads can still be accelerated for their counterparts working days. Of course, practices are required to re-read and verify results but this duplication can help fulfill QC/QA requirements.

In addition to heightened profitability and less administrative headaches, teleradiology can help a practice do more with less staff. As a result, the group can pursue profitable hospital engagements with the confidence of knowing that overnight coverage can be absorbed without hiring new employees. As for attracting new talent, quality of life is often a deciding factor and working off hours isn’t preferable. With teleradiology, that aspect is no longer a hang up, which makes a practice more appealing to young professionals, while improving retention among veteran practitioners.

Finally and most importantly, a practice can simply run smoother if the juggling of staff can be mitigated by working with a teleradiologist. The fact is, these specialists are accustomed to working unusual hours and have adapted to the rigors of the process.

When selecting a provider, it’s wise to ensure that they offer actual employees, as opposed to contractors, to ensure better continuity and quality control when working with them day in, day out. This relationship can be further improved by gaining assurances that the teleradiologist is accessible in real time if there is an inquiry about a read. Ultimately, the right teleradiology partner can have a positive influence, so radiology groups can fulfill their overnight commitments while dedicating staff and resources to daytime hours.

, a national teleradiology provider established in 2001.

Teleradiology is returning to its original intent in a supportive role. Despite lingering uncertainty of the model, teleradiology offers tangible benefits.

Author | Michael Myers, MD

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