Radiology has been a service line offered by Spectrum Healthcare Partners since we were formed in 1996. Our radiologists work with partner community health systems to provide their expertise, analyzing or “reading” images. We have a strong team of board-certified experts, many with advanced subspecialty training.
When the pandemic hit, we wanted to be sure that we could continue to provide radiologic expertise to our partners. With the patient always at the forefront, we rapidly deployed home workstations to better meet the physical distancing needs. We quickly found that this ‘teleradiology’ model offered many advantages.
Michael Quinn, MD, radiologist in Spectrum’s radiology south division and Spectrum president, states “it not only has helped ensure the delivery of radiology services to our partners’ sites, but it has also evolved into a creative solution for improving radiologist satisfaction and for addressing staffing shortages in the current labor market.” Corey Couto, MD, radiologist and managing director of the radiology north division, also appreciates the benefits of the teleradiology model.
Through this teleradiology program, Spectrum teleradiologists receive images to interpret from facilities that are outside the radiologists’ geographic vicinity. The radiologists are able to view the images and provide a diagnostic interpretation while meeting turnaround time expectations. Meaning, that from wherever our radiologists are, they can ‘read’ or interpret images for even the most remote communities.
“Maine has a lot of rural areas, particularly in the northern part of the state,” he says. “Teleradiology is immensely helpful in allowing us to improve patient care by providing increased access to subspecialists and an electronic pathway to triage care to other subspecialists, such as neuroradiology, nuclear medicine, and cardiac imaging.” Spectrum radiology provides teleradiology solutions throughout the state.
We’re excited to see what the future might look like, and how we can continue to provide innovative, expert solutions to our community health system partners. To learn more about our radiology services, click here.
