How Cloud and AI Innovations Can Facilitate Remote Radiology Services

Fluctuating exam volumes, varying case mixes and unscheduled events add to the daily complexity for radiology practices. With such variability, not only can it be difficult to ensure the workforce is rightsized to the daily case workload, it can also be challenging to distribute the work most efficiently.

A recent survey of over 1,000 radiology department leaders and administrators revealed that the main challenge in radiology departments over the next one to three years is anticipated to be operational efficiency.¹ Coupled with a projected shortage of up to nearly 42,000 radiologists in the United States by 2033 and 49 percent reporting burnout, there is a looming crisis within radiology practices across the country.² Without a viable solution to support appropriate and efficient workload distribution, radiology teams could be faced with suboptimal productivity, reactive staffing, unbalanced workload distribution and staff burnout, all of which can have a tremendous negative effect on overall practice performance, staff morale and, ultimately, retention.

To combat these issues, many radiology practices are seeking technology solutions that enable workload optimization. They need dynamic, adaptive tools that can increase productivity and efficiency while also creating a less stressful work environment.

Remote access can help resolve some of these challenges. Digital imaging solutions are fundamentally reshaping the landscape of radiology operations. They are empowering staff to focus on patient care while accessing the support needed through remote collaboration, virtually connecting teams to make the most of available resources, building staff competence and confidence, and instantly plugging in experts when and where they are needed.

Here are three ways that cloud and AI-driven technologies are expanding flexibility and efficiency for both radiology teams and patients.

Filling the Resource Gap with Remote Collaboration and Scan Assistance

The integration of cloud-based remote access platforms represents a paradigm shift in how radiology departments operate, offering the promise of enhanced operational efficiency and optimized resource utilization. Remote-access solutions enable seamless, secure access to imaging systems and support patient care from virtually any location.

This remote accessibility, including scanning for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), is central to addressing the critical issue of resource scarcity across diverse sites. Expert technologists, regardless of their physical location, can connect with on-site staff, offering real-time guidance and support for not only intricate examinations but also when additional coverage is required. Additional evening shifts may offer flexible exam scheduling by leveraging remote expertise from other locations.

Beyond immediate scan assistance, these innovations also foster an environment conducive to remote collaboration. Staff can engage in knowledge sharing, discuss challenging cases and, collectively, refine best practices. This collaboration is vital for continuous professional development and maintaining a high standard of patient care across imaging operations.

With an influx of less experienced technologists, remote collaboration can help onboard and train newer staff as they ramp up. Connecting staff remotely through these technologies transforms how expertise is shared and fosters more consistency, empowering radiology professionals to deliver improved patient care.

Building Competence Across Departments While Driving Image Quality and Scan Excellence

In an era of health-care consolidation, hospital systems are expanding their geographical footprint and integrating diverse facilities. Maintaining consistent imaging quality across an entire system represents a significant challenge. The inherent complexity of modern imaging technology, coupled with varied preferences among radiologists and specialists, often leads to a proliferation of protocols that can hinder uniform care delivery.

Cloud-based capabilities offer a powerful solution for standardizing imaging protocols remotely, helping to ensure consistent imaging across all radiology departments within a health system. At the core of this standardization is centralizing and managing imaging protocols through cloud-based platforms.

Streamlined protocol management can have a direct impact on staff productivity, enabling more standardized protocol selection and helping drive consistent image quality. The ability to remotely adjust protocols and replicate them across an entire enterprise can help ensure consistent, accurate and high-quality imaging across the enterprise without the added cost of traveling. In addition, manual updates could leave room for errors and delays.

Artificial intelligence (AI)-driven capabilities complementing these remote access systems could also significantly augment the support provided by analyzing scan parameters, identifying potential deviations from standardized protocols and even making real-time suggestions for optimal adjustments. This could be particularly beneficial during complex cases and for a department with less experienced staff. With remote protocol management, changes can be implemented easily and consistently, ensuring that all departments are operating with the most current and optimized protocols.

Consistency is critical for longitudinal patient care in which uniform imaging across different time points and locations is essential for accurate comparative analysis. By standardizing protocols remotely through the cloud, health systems can achieve a higher level of imaging consistency, which could help to improve diagnostic accuracy and greater operational efficiency across the enterprise.

(Editor’s note: For related content, see “The Reading Room Podcast: A Closer Look at Remote MRI Safety, Part 1,” “FDA Clears Remote Scanning Platform TechLive for MRI, CT, PET/CT and Ultrasound” and “What New Research Reveals About Portable Low-Field MRI and Patients with Suspected Alzheimer’s Disease.”)

Facilitating the Treatment of Patients in Their Community

Remote access to experts can significantly enhance the patient experience. Patients living in rural areas no longer need to travel long distances for specialized imaging. Remote access technology brings expert support directly to their local care settings. In some rural areas in the U.S., hospitals are leveraging technology that lets off-site, remote technologists securely connect with scanners on its campus.

In situations that require specialized expertise, remote consultation and assistance can expedite the diagnostic process, ensuring patients receive timely and appropriate care without unnecessary delays or logistical challenges. By leveraging remote capabilities to optimize resources, radiology departments can create a more agile, efficient and patient-centric imaging environment.

Final Notes

For radiology practices, the persistent challenges of staffing shortages, increasing exam volumes and the growing complexity of imaging data necessitate transformative solutions. Advances in digital imaging solutions are fundamentally reshaping this landscape, providing viable solutions to address these challenges and alleviating the significant burdens on radiology teams.

These innovations are streamlining workflows and enhancing the patient experience with AI-driven automation reducing cognitive overload for radiologists, offering expert support on critical cases and improving department efficiency. The digitization of imaging data facilitates seamless integration across health-care systems, enabling remote access, collaborative platforms and centralized management of protocols.

These capabilities not only enhance operational efficiency, but also foster a more flexible, supportive, collaborative environment for radiology practices, contributing the improvement of both patient and staff experiences.

Radiology is at a pivotal moment. As exam volumes rise and staffing challenges persist, remote access and AI-driven solutions offer a path forward, one that empowers radiology teams to work smarter, collaborate more effectively and deliver consistent, high-quality care across every geography. By embracing these innovations, health systems can not only improve operational efficiency and reduce burnout but also elevate the patient experience, bringing expert care closer to home.

References

1. GE HealthCare data and market research. Data on file.

2. Bailey CR, Bailey AM, McKenney AS, Weiss CR. Understanding and appreciating burnout in radiologists. Radiographics. 2022;42(5):E137-139.