Clinically oriented evaluation of family practice teleradiology

Richard L. Morin; Thomas H. Berquist; Jerald H. Pietan

doi:10.1117/12.208779

12 May 1995 Clinically oriented evaluation of family practice teleradiology

Richard L. Morin, Thomas H. Berquist, Jerald H. Pietan

Proceedings Volume 2435, Medical Imaging 1995: PACS Design and Evaluation: Engineering and Clinical Issues; (1995) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.208779
Event: Medical Imaging 1995, 1995, San Diego, CA, United States

Abstract

This study was designed to provide a clinically oriented evaluation of a commercially available teleradiology system for remote diagnosis in the family practice setting. We sought a technique to determine if the diagnostic report from interpretation of transmitted digitized radiographs differed from the report rendered following interpretation of the original radiograph. Radiographs taken in our Family Medicine Clinic were digitized and transmitted to a display station. One of two ABR certified radiologists interpreted the digitized images and a report was printed. In keeping with our current practice, the radiographs were transmitted by courier for interpretation. Interpretation of the original radiographs was rendered and entered into the medical record. Reports were compared retrospectively and classified as: Class I -- The reports agree; Class II -- The reports disagree without clinical significance; Class III -- The reports disagree with clinical significance. A total of 197 exams were compared, of which approximately half had positive findings on the radiograph. Of the 197 exams considered, the interpretations of digitized and original radiographs agreed in 183 (93%) of the cases. The 14 clinically significant discordant cases were reviewed to ascertain the reason for disagreement. For all 14 cases, both the electronic image and radiographs were interpreted again independently by both radiologists. This analysis demonstrated only 1 case with a Class III disagreement. Thus the interpretations were in agreement for 99.5% of the cases upon review. We believe this methodology is a viable and robust technique for the clinical evaluation of teleradiology systems. The radiologist performs similar and familiar functions in both domains and the technique can be easily implemented in many practice settings. We are encouraged that our results indicate substantial agreement is possible with a relatively inexpensive, commercially available teleradiology system. An expansion of our current study is underway.

Citation Download Citation

Richard L. Morin, Thomas H. Berquist, and Jerald H. Pietan "Clinically oriented evaluation of family practice teleradiology", Proc. SPIE 2435, Medical Imaging 1995: PACS Design and Evaluation: Engineering and Clinical Issues, (12 May 1995); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.208779

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