Journal List > J Korean Soc Radiol > v.80(3) > 1133020

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Radiology Advocacy Network of Korea for Quality and Safety (RANK-QS), Woo, Choi, Eo, Jung, Do, Lee, Kim, Jeong, Cho, Choi, and Hwang: Teleradiology of Korea in 2017: Survey and Interview of Training Hospitals and Teleradiology Center
Health Policy & Practice
Original Article

Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology 2019; 80(3): 490-502.

Published online: 31 May 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3348/jksr.2019.80.3.490

Teleradiology of Korea in 2017: Survey and Interview of Training Hospitals and Teleradiology Center

Hyunsik Woo, MD1, Moon Hyung Choi, MD2, †, Hong Eo, MD3, Seung Eun Jung, MD2, †, Kyung-Hyun Do, MD4, Jong Seok Lee, MD4, Seung Hoon Kim, MD4, Woo Kyoung Jeong, MD3, Eun-Suk Cho, MD5, Joon-Il Choi, MD2, Jae Yeon Hwang, MD6; Radiology Advocacy Network of Korea for Quality and Safety (RANK-QS)

1Department of Radiology, Boramae Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.

2Department of Radiology, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.

3Department of Radiology and Center for Imaging Science, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

4Department of Radiology and Research Institute of Radiology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

5Department of Radiology, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

6Department of Radiology, Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Yangsan, Korea.

Corresponding author: Hong Eo, MD. Department of Radiology and Center for Imaging Science, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 81 Irwon-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul 06351, Korea. Tel 82-2-3410-2568, Fax 82-2-3410-0049, rtombow@gmail.com

Current affiliation:

†Current address: Department of Radiology, Eunpyeong St. Mary’s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.

Received 25 January 2018       Revised 30 August 2018       Accepted 5 October 2018

Copyrights © 2019 The Korean Society of Radiology

The Korean Society of Radiology

(open-access):

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Purpose

Teleradiology has been widely used nationwide in various ways. In order to prepare a guideline, it was recognized that a survey on the actual condition of teleradiology in Korea was necessary.

Materials and Methods

The questionnaires were administered to training hospitals. Interviews were also conducted with teleradiology centers and teleradiologists. The bid records of Government e-Procurement System (Narajangteo) was examined.

Results

The main reason for requesting teleradiology was manpower shortage. The contracts were made on a per-case basis and all were interpreted with the reading radiolgists' names on the report. The report seemed to be delivered timely and access to clinical information was possible in some cases. The teleradiology fees collected from the e-procurement system were lower than those from other subjects, which is thought to be the result of the lowest bid method.

Conclusion

Guidelines for teleradiology should be developed on legitimate interpretations. In addition, continuous efforts to solve the problem of quality deterioration of teleradiology will be needed.

Keywords: Teleradiology, Republic of Korea, Surveys and Questionnaires, Interview

Figures and Tables

Fig. 1

Correlation between the number of referrals and reading workload per full-time radiologist in the training hospitals (p = 0.110).

jksr-80-490-g001
Table 1

Bid Records of Teleradiology Retrieved from the Government e-Procurement System (Narajangteo)

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*Results from January 2017 to October 2017.

Table 2

Representative Answers for Common Questionnaire Items

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Table 3

Mean Values of Teleradiology Fees Reported by Referral Training Hospitals, Government e-Procurement System, Teleradiology Centers, and Teleradiologists

jksr-80-490-i003

The numbers are in South Korean won (KRW).

Acknowledgments

This paper was supported by the policy project of Korean Radiological Society in 2017: Survey on the Status of Teleradiology in Korea.

Notes

Conflicts of Interest The authors have no potential conflicts of interest to disclose.

References

1. Kim GS, Han JG, Yoo HS, Do KH, Jung AY, Kang EJ, et al. 70 Years of the Korean Society of Radiology. Seoul: Seongmungak;2015.
2. Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. Portal for medical institutions. Accessed May 12, 2019. Available at. http://biz.hira.or.kr/.
3. Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. Health insurance medical care benefit cost. 2017. 07. 28. Accessed May 12, 2019. Available at. https://www.hira.or.kr/sViewer/index.do?ebookSn=39.
4. Ministry of Health and Welfare. Notice No. 2017 - 118 of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. 2017. 06. 30. Accessed May 12, 2019. Available at. http://www.mohw.go.kr/react/modules/download.jsp?BOARD_ID=5900&CONT_SEQ=340374&FILE_SEQ=209333.
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ORCID iDs

Hyunsik Woo
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0875-7465

Hong Eo
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9534-8098

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