Telehealth visits offer radiologists the opportunity to continue providing care in a socially distanced society. But as COVID persists, adjustments must be made to integrate virtual patient care into daily practice.
“The need for in-person medical services has been critically reevaluated as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to an increased and more standardized utilization of virtual visits to conduct healthcare encounters between patients and providers,” Dania Daye, MD, PhD, with the Department of Interventional Radiology at Massachusetts General Hospital, and co-authors explained.
Now, more than two years after the first case of COVID was reported, it has become clear that some virtual radiology services are becoming routine. And while telehealth visits do present numerous benefits—better clarification of findings, increased communications between radiologists, patients and referring providers, etc.—there remain challenges to incorporating virtual care into everyday practice.
In a viewpoint published Tuesday in the American Journal of Roentgenology, experts detailed the barriers that lie in the way of streamlining virtual radiology consultations. Three key roadblocks are highlighted below.
Lack of access to telehealth must be considered. Patients need reliable internet access, devices and basic technological skills to participate in synchronous virtual visits. Without these things, disparity gaps widen and patients are left behind. Understanding how to expand virtual access to patients is crucial.
Radiologist and physician participation is key. Currently, there is no mandate for radiologists or clinicians to dedicate any of their time to virtual visits; only those who are interested participate. The authors note that, at their institution, primary care physicians were the only referring providers that took part in synchronous telehealth visits with patients and radiologists. Routine telehealth visits would require continuous coverage from both radiologists and referring providers, as well as increased participation from specialists (pulmonologists, orthopedists, etc.).
Virtual radiology visits are not yet reimbursed. Radiologists are not currently reimbursed for virtual visits in which they review their reports with patients and providers. But the authors explained that with enough data showing the clinical and financial benefits of teleradiology, they believe that future reimbursement can be achieved.
You can view the article in its entirety in the American Journal of Roentgenology.
In addition to her background in journalism, Hannah also has patient-facing experience in clinical settings, having spent more than 12 years working as a registered rad tech. She joined Innovate Healthcare in 2021 and has since put her unique expertise to use in her editorial role with Health Imaging.