Hospitals and doctors offices are charging more than ever for their services these days. Government-sponsored programs such as Obamacare was supposed to bring these costs down, but the opposite is what appears to have happened. In an effort to minimize cost to healthcare providers and patients alike, many medical facilities are seeking teleradiology services.
Everyone who has ever read a hospital bill has seen the radiology entry in the itemization of charges. Few really understand what the term means, or they believe it applies only to x-rays obtained during a hospital visit. MRIs, CAT scans, and CT scans are all examples of radiological examinations, and all of these require an expert to evaluate the images in order to come to proper diagnosis or treatment.
Traditionally, private practice doctors have had to send the physical x-ray images to an offsite radiology service. This means that the results of x-rays or MRIs done in-house must take several days. This is why broken bone patients are generally sent to a hospital before a fixed reduction can be performed.
These small practices are generally not big and rich enough to be able to afford on-site radiologists. Even area hospitals are not always able to support such an expensive service considering radiologists can charge up to $1,500.00 per day for their presence in the hospital environment. However, having such a professional available to evaluate certain tests is a requirement for providing proper medical care.
Radiologists who specialize in ultrasound technology are often on their own in an OB/GYN office. There are instances where the radiologist may wish to have a second set of eyes on the images he or she is taking, and that person needs this to be available in real time since the measurements and general evaluation of the ultrasound is done in real time. We now have the technology to allow this to happen.
Pregnant women are not the only ones who can benefit from the availability of more than one radiologist. Patients who present with chest pain or have a history of strokes and other cardiology concerns are usually sent to larger area hospitals. Not only does this extend the time it takes to get proper diagnosis or treatment, but it increases the cost to the patient exponentially.
This means small town hospitals and doctors offices are providing better services at lower cost than specialty centers. Fewer ambulance rides or Life-Flight trips means less expense is incurred, which actually equates to smaller care centers being able to make more money for their local urgent care center. It also means radiology technicians are able to tele-work, sometimes from home, allowing for a more flexible lifestyle.
Offsite radiologists are able to charge per image rather than charging the facility for an entire day. This means they are somewhat inconvenienced at being placed on-call, but the cost of their service to hospitals, and eventually to patients, goes from the thousands to less than $100 for the image. Patients are advised to look at their bills closely to make sure that savings is being passed on to them.
Everyone who has ever read a hospital bill has seen the radiology entry in the itemization of charges. Few really understand what the term means, or they believe it applies only to x-rays obtained during a hospital visit. MRIs, CAT scans, and CT scans are all examples of radiological examinations, and all of these require an expert to evaluate the images in order to come to proper diagnosis or treatment.
Traditionally, private practice doctors have had to send the physical x-ray images to an offsite radiology service. This means that the results of x-rays or MRIs done in-house must take several days. This is why broken bone patients are generally sent to a hospital before a fixed reduction can be performed.
These small practices are generally not big and rich enough to be able to afford on-site radiologists. Even area hospitals are not always able to support such an expensive service considering radiologists can charge up to $1,500.00 per day for their presence in the hospital environment. However, having such a professional available to evaluate certain tests is a requirement for providing proper medical care.
Radiologists who specialize in ultrasound technology are often on their own in an OB/GYN office. There are instances where the radiologist may wish to have a second set of eyes on the images he or she is taking, and that person needs this to be available in real time since the measurements and general evaluation of the ultrasound is done in real time. We now have the technology to allow this to happen.
Pregnant women are not the only ones who can benefit from the availability of more than one radiologist. Patients who present with chest pain or have a history of strokes and other cardiology concerns are usually sent to larger area hospitals. Not only does this extend the time it takes to get proper diagnosis or treatment, but it increases the cost to the patient exponentially.
This means small town hospitals and doctors offices are providing better services at lower cost than specialty centers. Fewer ambulance rides or Life-Flight trips means less expense is incurred, which actually equates to smaller care centers being able to make more money for their local urgent care center. It also means radiology technicians are able to tele-work, sometimes from home, allowing for a more flexible lifestyle.
Offsite radiologists are able to charge per image rather than charging the facility for an entire day. This means they are somewhat inconvenienced at being placed on-call, but the cost of their service to hospitals, and eventually to patients, goes from the thousands to less than $100 for the image. Patients are advised to look at their bills closely to make sure that savings is being passed on to them.
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You can get a summary of the things to consider before picking a provider of teleradiology services at http://www.spot-on-radiologist.com/services right now.
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