Building a National Teleradiology Network Requires Innovation

The ability of teleradiology to provide specialized radiological care to sparsely populated areas at any time of day shows just how critically important the technology can be in improving patient care.

In the U.S., teleradiology networks are usually limited to within a particular hospital system, but in countries with national health systems, they can be used to create nationwide networks. The success of a national teleradiology network in Germany shows how competently radiologists can be linked to care providers, even when they are separated by geography.

But getting a teleradiology network to run efficiently and optimize care took a lot of persistent hard work, interpersonal collaboration, and innovation. Developers of the network had to put a good amount of personal time and effort into convincing other institutions of the benefits of joining the network. This often required a personal effort by the teleradiology staff, endurance, and flexibility from local and external team members.