One of the biggest challenges in radiology is being isolated from patients and the clinical team providing their care, according to presenter Dr. David Saul, now of Christiana Care Health System.
"While that can provide us with an unbiased viewpoint from which to assess a patient's imaging studies, it often places us in a quandary regarding how to interpret nonspecific findings in the absence of clinical data," Saul told AuntMinnie.com. "This problem has only become more pervasive in the era of digital image transfer systems, which allow image interpretation from any location in a health system but have eliminated the need for direct interaction between the radiologist and clinical physician."
This fragmented model is suboptimal, and patient care can be improved by bringing radiology back together with the clinical side of medicine, according to the team.
"This is particularly true in the intensive care unit (ICU), where patients are often very ill and have complex disease processes that require multidisciplinary care -- and radiology is one of those disciplines that should be involved," Saul said. "Furthermore, we recognize that collaboration yields increased learning opportunities for both attendings and trainees, and greater understanding between radiology and the ICU teams can streamline workflow and improve expertise on both sides."
The group adopted virtual conferencing technology to provide 20-minute interactive "rounds" with clinicians in the pediatric ICU. The technology appears to contribute positively to both radiology and ICU clinician education, Saul said.
"Increased interaction should provide greater understanding on the part of the radiologist regarding 'what the ICU doctor needs to know' and can help fill in gaps in those cases of imaging abnormalities that require clinical correlation," he said. "Both of these scenarios have the potential for significant impact on patient care. We received very positive feedback on our teleconferencing model, which suggests that this format is a viable alternative to interdepartmental travel for radiology rounds."
Hear all about their experience in this session on Wednesday afternoon.
