PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Al-Dahery, Shrooq T.
AU  - Alsharif, Walaa M.
AU  - Alamri, Fatima H.
AU  - Nawawi, Shahad A.
AU  - Mofti, Wed K.
AU  - Alhazmi, Fahad H.
AU  - Alshamrani, Khalid M.
AU  - Suliman, Awadia G.
AU  - Qurashi, Abdulaziz A.
TI  - The role of teleradiology during COVID-19 outbreak
AID  - 10.15537/smj.2023.44.2.20220793
DP  - 2023 Feb 01
TA  - Saudi Medical Journal
PG  - 202--210
VI  - 44
IP  - 2
4099  - http://smj.org.sa/content/44/2/202.short
4100  - http://smj.org.sa/content/44/2/202.full
SO  - Saudi Med J2023 Feb 01; 44
AB  - Objectives: To evaluate the role of teleradiology during the COVID-19 pandemic from Saudi radiologists’ perspectives to improve the radiology quality service.Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in Saudi Arabia among radiologists working at local hospitals from October to November 2021. It contains 21 questions involved demographic information; general information on teleradiology services; and the impact of teleradiology during COVID-19. One-way ANOVA was used to compare demographic groups. Chi-square test was used to compare demographic groups regarding their distribution of responses. All tests were carried out <0.05 level of significance.Results: A total of 102 radiologists participated in this study (56% males, 44% females), 58.8% of them were sub-specialized in chest radiology. Regarding the general status of teleradiology, 69.6% of participants believed that teleradiology is a helpful tool for imaging interpretation. However, 44% of them were uncertain on the impact of teleradiology on patients’ confidentiality. Approximately 87% of participants agreed that there is a positive contribution of teleradiology during COVID-19, which enables decreasing risk of infection and workload. There was a significant difference between professional degrees and overall participant responses (p<0.05). Academicians agreed that it enhances radiology departments’ work (mean=17.78, SD=1.86).Conclusion: Concerns raised on complicated cases that require physical presence of patients, cannot be performed by teleradiology. Additionally, it might provide insufficient communication with other professionals to discuss images.