AI is revolutionizing radiology workflow and patient care
In the rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, artificial intelligence (AI) is making significant strides in improving radiology workflow and patient care coordination. Nicholas Galante, MD, medical director of informatics at Radiology Associates of North Texas, recently discussed how technology from Viz.ai is transforming his radiology practice, enhancing efficiency and ultimately benefiting patient outcomes.
As with all AI, Galante says it is important for radiology practices to evaluate each algorithm to decide if they provide good ROI.
"There's a radiologist shortage and burnout is very real,” he says. “Right now, volumes have never been higher, and the turnaround times have never been longer. So for me, the primary ROI is how do I feel at the end of the day using AI? Does this algorithm make me feel more stressed or less stressed? Has it made my workday more pleasant or less pleasant?
Positive impacts on patient care also are needed to justify clinical AI. This may include faster diagnosis, improved care coordination and improve outcomes.
"There's definitely been an impact on patient outcomes, because the patients are being seen sooner,” Galante says. “In the case of stroke or cerebral vascular accident, that's viable tissue every second ticking away. Same thing with heart strain in the setting of pulmonary embolism. The impact on improved patient outcomes is going to have many downstream effects, like decreased length of hospital stay and less complications.”
Watch the video for more insights.
Dave Fornell has covered healthcare for more than 17 years, with a focus in cardiology and radiology. Fornell is a 5-time winner of a Jesse H. Neal Award, the most prestigious editorial honors in the field of specialized journalism. The wins included best technical content, best use of social media and best COVID-19 coverage. Fornell was also a three-time Neal finalist for best range of work by a single author. He produces more than 100 editorial videos each year, most of them interviews with key opinion leaders in medicine. He also writes technical articles, covers key trends, conducts video hospital site visits, and is very involved with social media. E-mail: dfornell@innovatehealthcare.com