teleradiologyOver the years, dependency on teleradiology outsourcing for obtaining quality reports has grown. This because of several reasons. On one hand, developed countries like the US face a severe shortage of radiologists. This is despite a substantial increase in the number of scans they conduct. According to reports, in USA, a radiology report requires an average of over two weeks to be signed off from the day of scan. The delay defeats the mandate of Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) that requires hospitals to provide round-the-clock services to patients.

Teleradiology outsourcing companies, on the other hand, help hospitals in developed countries address these gaps. They provide quality and highly accurate interpretations of the scans, at shorter times and on-demand. In addition, these services are extremely professional and are backed by the latest technology. The practice of outsourcing radiology requirements had started with small requirements.  However, with time, medical practices have started outsourcing a bulk of their radiology requirements, regardless of modality. This is because it has helped them raise their  high standards of patient care.

Why is Outsourcing Teleradiology Services Growing by Leaps and Bounds?

Teleradiology outsourcing is all set to witness huge growth in coming years. A recent report has predicted that the global teleradiology market size will have a CAGR of 18.4% between 2019 and 2026. The primary reasons for this stupendous growth are:

1.Teleradiology Provides Coverage 24 X 7 X365

One of the biggest benefits of outsourcing teleradiology services is that you can avail the service of partners 24×7. This includes night coverage. Irrespective of whether you are a hospital or diagnostic center, you can bank on radiology outsourcing companies round-the-clock for quality for ER, Imaging, or urgent interpretation.

Most reputed teleradiology companies have specialized evening and weekend service staff to handle after work-hour requirements. This staffing flexibility helps you to get services that do not compromise on patient care. In case of severe emergencies, you can expect a turn around that is as short as 15-30 minutes even in the evenings.

2.US Board Certified Radiologists

Teleradiology outsourcing companies are extremely reliable as they employ radiologists certified by American Board of Physician Specialties (ABPS)This gives you easy access to a pool of licensed and qualified radiologists. The junior radiologists are led by experts who have absolute mastery over their specialty.

A tele-radiology outsourcing partner also has a well-defined quality control mechanism to handle radiology requirements. This mechanism primarily consists of multi-tier checking of each image file to establish accuracy. Therefore US-based practices place great trust on their interpretation over the years.

3.Organized and Up-to-date Operations Process

Tele-radiology outsourcing companies have well-organized processes to meet turnaround time. For instance, the record keeping process is meticulous and diligent. This way they also serve as a reliable back-up to patient record maintenance.

Likewise, they provide continuous education to their pool of radiologists to keep them updated about latest rules and use of technologies for correct interpretation. This includes regular changes introduced by board of radiology in every state.  The radiologists are also tested for their upgraded skills.

All this together ensure that a practice does not have run into malpractice lawsuits. Large radiology companies even have malpractice insurance to save you from costly legal actions.

4.Reliance on Advanced Technologies like Cloud-based PACs

A large  radiology outsourcing company depends on latest technologies to provide services. One such technology is the cloud-based picture archiving and communication systems or PACS. This system offers unmatched efficiency., It also equips the practise with any-time and any-device report availability.

Another benefit of PACs is that enables prompt retrieval of images along with interpretations and related data. This eliminates the usual time and physical hindrances associated with traditional image distribution. Further, PACs are well-equipped to handle images from different types of medical imaging tools. This includes tools like MR, CT and ultrasound, positron emission tomography.

5.Cost-Effective Services

The biggest advantage of teleradiology outsourcing is that it leads to cost savings without compromising on quality. An offshore radiology partner can hire certified radiologists at almost one-third the price of an onshore partner. This benefit is directly passed on to the client.

The other collateral benefit of teleradiology outsourcing is cost savings through elimination of all associated costs of maintaining an inhouse team. These costs include purchasing and maintenance of equipment, infrastructure expenses, training costs, tool upgradation and costs associated with scaling up services. All these expenses add up to a significant amount and can be saved by outsourcing.

6.HIPAA Compliant Support

HIPAA compliance is a key requirement for all healthcare practices. It requires healthcare providers to protect sensitive patient information from unauthorized leakage or access. In case of teleradiology it entails protecting leakage of diagnostic imaging and interpretation.

Teleradiology outsourcing companies play an important role in meeting this requirement. A good teleradiology partner banks on several tools to ensure there is no breach of patient information. Some of these include encryption tool like Transport Layer Security, Security File Transfer Protocol.   These technologies are more robust than FTP, Direct messaging, an encrypted protocol for exchanging information in the form of texts and files, Virtual Private Network for remote transfer of reports etc.

7.Customized Reporting Formats

A teleradiology outsourcing partner follows a standardized and structured reporting practice. These practice paradigms help to improve patient outcomes by providing a structured method to present radiology reports. The reports can be adjusted as per your clinic workflow.

An experienced teleradiology partner will provide you with 100+ reporting templates to choose from. Besides, they can also assist you develop a template customized to your needs. You can bank on their experience to streamline data capture and maximize efficiency.

8.Time

Outsourcing teleradiology services helps hospitals and other healthcare practices save a lot of time. This is because they have time zone advantage, along with the ability to swiftly complete high-priority cases. The time zone advantage can in particular gives your diagnostic process the speed it requires to treat patients without any delay.

Who We Are and What Makes Us an Expert?

OutsourceRCM is one of the premier teleradiology outsourcing companies. We provide specialized healthcare  back-office support services to hospitals and healthcare practices of all sizes. Our services include medical billing, coding, claims submission, denial management, accounts receivables etc. We also specialize in teleradiology services. Get in touch with us now to know more about our services.