Remote reading to attract radiologists
HEALTHCARE 3 min read
Long hours, weekend and evening shifts, being on call, and a heavy workload… that’s how many would describe the job of a radiologist. It’s no surprise that radiologists will be hard to find in the near future. In the UK today, there’s a 13% shortage of radiologists. By 2033, the United States could have a shortfall of nearly 42,000 radiologists and other clinical specialists.1
Flexibility and productivity for millennial radiologists
For the millennial generation, work-life balance is extremely important. Remote or home working options can help to attract and retain millennial radiologists. This generation is highly tech-savvy, anyway. For them, videoconferencing and online consultations have become the standard way of working.
In a paper about Teaching and Working With Millennial Trainees, the authors say: “They are much more focused on getting the work done rather than on exactly where or when it gets done. Radiology practices may need to reconsider their staffing models, offering more than just part-time or full-time positions. To retain millennial talent, groups may need to consider staggered shifts, remote reading, job sharing, and other non-traditional options.”2
Reducing weekend shifts for radiologists
Remote reading allows radiologists to work more efficiently, ensures optimal working conditions and a flexible work schedule. On-call, weekend and late-evening duties, for example, can be performed at home instead of at the hospital. It’s exactly why home reading is becoming a standard benefit in radiology hiring today.
What do radiologists need to work from home?
When reading diagnostic exams at home, whether occasionally or full-time, a diagnostic display is required. While radiologists may have a PACS system in their home, it requires considerably more to ensure the same level of performance, quality and security you have come to expect from medical workstations in the hospital reading room.
Considerations for remote radiology reading are:
- Imaging performance: how do you display and process large medical images in the home office? To learn more about what it takes for home reading, read more here.
- Productivity & workflow: how do you ensure that you can use the same workflow tools everywhere?
- Collaboration: how can you easily collaborate with remote peers?
- Security: how do you ensure security integrity on remote reading workstations?
- Patient privacy: how do you securely share patient information outside the hospital?
- Quality & compliance: how does QC staff manage the medical image quality of remote workstations and ensure compliance to medical image standards and guidelines without having to visit all remote locations?
- Whitney J. Palmer, Physician Specialty Shortage – Including Radiologists – Continues to Climb.
- Ana P. Lourenco, John J. Cronan, Teaching and Working With Millennial Trainees: Impact on Radiological Education and Work Performance.