Ideal teleradiology configuration from a physician's perspective

Teleradiology systems are being developed and implemented around the world. The ultimate success of these systems depends on the acceptance by the end users -- the physicians. From a physician's perspective, several major areas need to be addressed in the ideal situation. The areas include (1) image quality and ease of manipulation of images on a workstation; (2) expert interpretation by a specialist or sub-specialist; (3) good communication between the radiologist, radiology technologist, primary care physician, and the patient; (4) accessibility to images; (5) system reliability; (6) costs and assistance in balancing workloads; and (7) education and research. The Medical Diagnostic Imaging Support (MDIS) System is a large tri-service project to install picture archive and communication systems (PACS) and teleradiology at military medical treatment facilities across the United States and abroad. The first sites primarily involved with teleradiology will be installed in the summer of 1993. Ways in which the MDIS teleradiology system address the physicians' ideal configuration as well as possible future improvements are discussed.© (1993) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.