Teleradiology-Based Referrals for Patients with Gastroenterological Diseases Between Tertiary and Regional Hospitals: A Hospital-to-Hospital Approach.

Abstract

Teleradiology is recognized for fostering collaboration between regional and tertiary hospitals. However, its application in gastroenterological diseases remains underexplored. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of teleradiology in improving gastroenterological care. This retrospective study analyzed patients with gastroenterological diseases in a tertiary hospital who were referred from a regional hospital using a cloud-based radiology image-sharing system between July 2020 and June 2023. Our primary focus was to conduct a descriptive statistical analysis to evaluate patient characteristics and the referral process and analyze the timeframes from referral to transfer and from the start of treatment to discharge and the outcomes. We analyzed 56 patients, with 45 (80.4%) presenting hepatobiliary pancreatic disease. The most frequent condition was common bile duct stones (17 cases). Forty-nine cases were transferred for inpatient treatments, four underwent endoscopic examinations as outpatients, and two had imaging consultation without subsequent hospital visits. On referral day, 16 patients were transferred, and the remaining 33 (67.3%) were placed on a waiting list starting from the subsequent day. The median time from referral to admission was 1day (range: 0-14days), and the median time from referral to treatment was 2days (range: 0-14days). Remote image-sharing systems ensure accurate imaging at referral, preventing care delays. In collaboration with regional and tertiary hospitals, teleradiology may also be useful for gastroenterological diseases.