One of my colleagues has asked me this question before and left me pondering which came first, PACS or Teleradiology?  What I mean is, was Teleradiology/medical images transmission a goal by itself so developers kept looking for a mean to achieve it and they figured out that this should be the PACS; or was the main purpose to create a filmless environment and after creating the PACS they figured out that it can be web-based so can allow images transmission.  In my opinion, the reason why some people are still asking this question especially in the Middle East is the idea that PACS and Teleradiology are inseparable and impossible to exist without being together which is not correct.  PACS is not only for Teleradiology and Teleradiology can be made possible without using PACS, it's just that simple.  Of course having a web-based PACS system would provide the ideal environment for Teleradiology including image transmission, accessibility and archiving, but still Teleradiology can be made possible using workstations and DICOM viewers which can lower costs of the whole process to meet the budgets of healthcare providers in the Middle East.

Teleradiology is not a new concept at all and the trials of transmitting the medical images started almost since mid-1960s when a Hospital installed a closed television circuit between the ER and radiology department.  Of course there have been many difficulties in that model including the poor quality and resolution of images, and the need to send images one by one each time which made the whole process unreliable and was never taken seriously when it comes to patient care.  Though the idea didn't go away and with the spread computer use over the 80s attention turned to use computers in Telemedicine applications especially with revolution of digitalization.  At that point the model of store-and-forward was much more appealing in Teleradiology rather than live television model.

Almost at the same period of time attention was turned towards making benefit of digitalization of medical data and of course radiology was one of the medical specialties that would make the most benefit of digitalization and efforts on that side have developed the Picture Archiving and Communication Systems and DICOM protocols.  So it's like having two teams working at the same time on two different projects then they meet together in the cross-point where they both achieve their goals.

I believe that many healthcare providers in the Middle East are having a similar situation.  Many facilities are implementing PACS without considering the use of Teleradiology even if they need it.  Others are looking for solutions for their staff shortage problems for which Teleradiology can be the best choice but they do not have enough infrastructure or experience in how to make Teleradiology possible without making much upfront investment.  Here comes the role of a company like Telemed Providers who have the experience and the full package of solutions to provide consultations for medical facilities in the Middle East to make Teleradiology possible and cost effective more than hiring full-time radiologists.  It is not only the consultant radiologists, and not only the systems and technical solutions but also the whole scope and hands-on experience of the process that makes Telemed Providers capable of providing the best service ever especially for facilities how do not have any experience with Teleradiology requirements.

Editorial Team