Should You Outsource Your Radiology Department?

Storing, sharing and managing patient medical images can be time-consuming, which may lead you to consider outsourcing your radiology department. Outsourced radiology services can help streamline your imaging tasks, but you should understand the pros and cons before making a decision. While outsourcing radiology may seem like the only alternative, there are solutions you can use to enhance your facility's internal radiology departments.

Is Radiology Outsourcing the Best Option? 

Outsourcing your radiology department involves contracting some or all of its functions. A third-party provider can handle functions such as image storage, interpretation and sharing. The contracted provider may also handle tasks such as billing and reporting. It's important to understand the advantages and potential cons of outsourcing before deciding whether it's the best option for your facility.

Benefits of Outsourcing Radiology Services

Teleradiology enables radiologists to view and interpret medical images remotely, which can help your facility access outside expertise. Medical facilities often outsource their radiology services because it offers the following advantages:

• Greater efficiency: A contracted radiology provider focuses solely on radiology tasks, enabling its employees to increase turnaround times.
• Cost Savings: Outsourcing can help reduce overhead costs by eliminating in-house factors such as equipment, staffing and training.
• Specialized expertise: An outsourced radiology provider can connect you with radiologists with specialized expertise in various subspecialties and modalities. Depending on your facility's needs, this can help improve diagnostic accuracy.
• Scalability: Outsourcing lets you adjust resources and staffing based on your needs and fluctuating workloads.
• Compliance: An outsourced radiology provider has more time to focus on evolving standards, ensuring compliance with the latest regulations.

Cons of Outsourcing Radiology Services

Outsourcing can also present the following challenges:

• Reduced control: You have less control over an outsourced radiology department's decision-making processes and daily operations. This may present challenges depending on how a company's processes impact your workflows.
• Data security and confidentiality risks: Trusting an external provider with your data can potentially impact patient privacy and data security. If you decide to outsource your radiology tasks, it's important to choose a company that follows strict data privacy regulations.
• Inconsistent quality: Working with a low-quality radiology services provider could lead to inconsistent results.
• Communication challenges: Communication between your in-house departments and an outsourced radiology department can become inconsistent, hindering collaboration.
• Impact on existing staff: Outsourcing impacts your current radiology employees' job security. This can also impact staff morale throughout your facility.

How to Enhance Your Internal Radiology Department

You can also boost efficiency in-house, keeping your existing internal radiology department. Adopting a high-quality picture archiving and communication system (PACS) and a digital imaging and communications in medicine (DICOM) router enables you to accelerate processes without outsourcing. You can also use a PACS and DICOM router to transfer images between your facility and an outsourced radiology department if you decide outsourcing is the best option.

A PACS helps your facility's health care professionals store and share patient medical images digitally. It stores images and medical information in secure remote servers or directly on-site. Depending on your needs, staff can then access radiology images and data on computers, PACS software or mobile devices. This method is much faster than traditional manual filing and sharing systems. It saves personnel time, and it's a secure way to manage patient data.

How You Can Enhance Your Radiology Department's Efficiency With Candelis Solutions

Image archiving, image management and visualization tools are excellent solutions to seamlessly collaborate with an outsourced radiology department or manage your radiology processes in-house. Candelis provides innovative solutions to help you boost efficiency, security and quality, whether you decide to maintain an internal radiology department or outsource it. Our ImageGrid™ PACS products and DICOM router software and server solutions offer the following advantages:

Fast Movement of Radiology Images and Clear Image Viewing

Our DICOM viewer software uses robust routers to move radiology images faster. They quickly transfer images from your acquisition devices to your radiology workstation for reading and interpretation. With this solution, your radiologists can read CT scans, MRIs and X-ray images and share findings with patients in a timely manner. This capability increases transparency, which can enhance patient satisfaction.

ImageView™ DICOM viewer software is a versatile solution that you can immediately integrate with your existing workflow. It provides clear, precise medical image viewing to enhance patient experiences and improve outcomes.

Excellent Efficiency and Cost Savings

ImageGrid PACS is a cost-effective solution that provides robust routing and seamless information sharing. This replaces time-consuming manual tasks, giving your radiology staff more time to focus on patient care. You can streamline workflows and send information between different departments and systems within your healthcare ecosystem. ImageGrid supports inbound and outbound Health Level Seven (HL7) integrations, enabling you to share critical information across different applications and devices in the healthcare ecosystem.

ImageGrid also features a self-monitoring, intelligent notification system that alerts you to hardware or software issues. This allows you to address complications quickly and prevent process disruptions.

Dependable and Scalable Data Backup 

With ImageGrid PACS, you can rely on a central imaging center that keeps your data completely segregated. ImageGrid stores and backs up data in the ASTRA™ cloud, a disaster recovery system or an NFS pool based on your system needs. Storage is also highly scalable and cost-effective, allowing you to expand and take advantage of over 100 terabytes if needed.

Seamless Router Software and Server Solution

ImageGrid DICOM router software and server solutions integrate into one router. Rapid, precise image routing helps you save high volumes of data. These solutions also help you seamlessly store, transfer and collaborate on patient images so you can:

• Handle complicated image routing with greater ease
• Accelerate workflows in complex, high-volume healthcare environments
• Effectively resolve patient conflicts
• Improve patient outcomes with faster diagnosis

Boost Productivity, Accuracy and Efficiency With Radiology Solutions From Candelis

While outsourcing is one way to boost efficiency, Candelis offers alternative solutions to help your in-house department manage images with enhanced speed and accuracy. ImageGrid DICOM routers help you move images between acquisition devices and workstations faster, and our PACS systems help you interpret images with greater clarity. 

With Candelis solutions, you can transfer large imaging files between different locations and systems rapidly, ultimately improving patient satisfaction and facilitating better outcomes. Our DICOM routers and PACS systems seamlessly integrate with your existing systems and can handle complex image routing. Expandable cloud storage scales with your department's needs, and a simple setup makes it easy to get started. Contact us to learn more about our image storage and transfer solutions and how they can enhance your radiology department.