The Prevalence, Practice and Attitude Towards Teleradiology by Radiologists and Radiology Residents in Kenya

Abstract

Background: Teleradiology occurs when a radiologist interprets images away from the centre where the images were generated. Teleradiology started in the United States, but the practice has grown globally and is now part of the services offered in most radiology centres worldwide. As most hospitals in Kenya have been equipped with at least a CT scan machine, amongst many other radiological services offered, it is often the expertise that is often the drawback in these facilities. Teleradiology has the potential to mitigate the problem of unavailability of radiologists in most hospitals by providing access to radiologist’s services remotely. Broad Objectives: This study assessed the prevalence of Teleradiology currently being practised in Kenya and investigated the practice and attitude of radiologists and radiology residents towards Teleradiology. Study Design and Population: A cross sectional descriptive study was carried out. The study targeted a population of all registered radiologists in Kenya and radiology residence undertaking their studies in Kenya. Methodology: A structured questionnaire was used to interview participants and capture primary data. The questionnaire begun by requesting consent from the respondents, followed by giving a brief introduction to Teleradiology and the definition of a few technical terms that were used to aid respondents understanding of the concept of Teleradiology. The questionnaire was divided into three sections. The first section covered the demographic information of the participants. Section B was made up of questions on the current scope of Teleradiology being practised by the participants. The last section, C, was made up of questions on the opinion towards Teleradiology by the participants. The data was analysed using IBM SPSS (version 26). Results: A significant number of participants had adopted the use of teleradiology in their institutions (n=100, 79%). With regards practice of teleradiology, it was slightly high in radiologists, compared to residents, 81.8% by radiologists, compared to 76.2% by residents. There was a strong relationship between the availability of PACS and practice of teleradiology. 87% of institutions with PACS were practising teleradiology, with a P value of 0.0001, which was statistically significant. The laptop was the commonest device used for reporting when carrying out teleradiology services. Majority of the participants, 77.3% indicated that insourcing teleradiology had a positive impact to their radiology departments. Both radiologists and residents gave varying opinions on their professional bodies supporting teleradiology. Forty percent of radiologists said no, their professional bodies does not support xiii teleradiology, whereas 28% answered yes and 32% indicated they did not know. Almost all the radiologists and residents had no knowledge of existing guidelines, with regards to teleradiology, with 98% residents and 95% of radiologists indicating there were not aware of any regulations. There were several perceived advantages of teleradiology by participants, including greater efficiency, improved distribution of workload and making easier for teaching. Disadvantages of teleradiology highlighted included teleradiology being too impersonal and insufficient communication with clinicians. Conclusion: The results from this study revealed that many radiology practices across Kenya have integrated teleradiology in their day-to-day activities. Radiology practices is urban and rural areas were using teleradiology, and both residents and consultant radiologists were practicing teleradiology. There were a lot of perceived advantages and disadvantages of teleradiology. Recommendations: Involvement of administrators and regulators of both KAR and KMPDC to assess their opinion of teleradiology, and their views regarding regulations in teleradiology