Covid-19 has made patients feel vulnerable so radiology providers need to continue to refine the patient experience, according to Paul Shumway, Senior Vice President, Customer Success at Novarad. In his article “4 ways radiology can enhance the patient experience,” published June 25, 2021, in Aunt Minnie, he goes on to say “Getting the correct answers fast — and promptly communicating those answers to the patient and care team — matters. Patients are no longer willing to feel vulnerable for days and weeks while waiting for scans to drive diagnosis and treatment decisions. They expect the same kind of speed they get from the abundance of information now available online.”

Radiology can do that, Mr. Shumway says, in four ways:

• Collaborate through enterprise imaging
  • Benefits include increased collaboration among care teams, sharing imaging with patients, and using ‘storyboarding’ to “show images in the content of the patient’s care to help answer the ‘why?’ questions.”
• Utilize innovative applications of patient-friendly technology
  • Accessing imaging through the use of QR codes aligns with patient’s “everyday life” and can provide faster care results
• Utilize machine learning/artificial intelligence (AI) to provide better, faster procedures
  • Radiologists can benefit from “man with machine” synergy to deliver “more precise imaging and interpretation.” This may lead to shorter patient wait times from exam to treatment
• Align around the patient experience
  • Patient satisfaction can be improved, and vulnerability reduced, by “[l]listening to patients’ concerns at every step in the care journey, as well as reducing imaging wait and turnaround times”

Using technology to “improve the speed and accuracy of information and communication” can drive better patient care while keeping costs manageable.

Source:

4 ways radiology can enhance the patient experience By Paul Shumway, AuntMinnie.com contributing writer. https://www.auntminnie.com/index.aspx?sec=sup&sub=aic&pag=dis&ItemID=132718 Accessed July 12, 2021