Teleradiology saves times in cases of vital emergencies: A comparative study with on-call radiology in two urban medium-sized French hospitals

Abstract

Summary Objective To compare teleradiology delays with on-call radiology delays for emergencies. Patients and methods We conducted a quasi-experimental, prospective, multicentric, controlled study. 478 patients underwent CT scans, 224 referred by emergency room physicians to on-call radiologists and 254 to a remote teleradiologist in two downtown hospitals in France on weekends. Delay between admission and reporting, intermediate delays, quality of requests and staff satisfaction were evaluated. Average times (and their 95% confidence intervals) were calculated for each group and compared using Student's t -test. Quality of exam requests was evaluated using the French National Authority for Health indicators. Results Average delay between referring and reporting was 1h35 with on-call radiology versus 1h01 with teleradiology ( P P Conclusion Radiological delays are shorter with teleradiology in our model. Referring physicians’ and radiology technicians’ satisfaction seems better with teleradiology. Teleradiology provides better access to timely and quality imaging for after-hours emergencies. Referring physicians and radiology technicians were satisfied with teleradiology.