Teleradiology usage and user satisfaction with the telemedicine system operated by médecins sans frontières.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) began a pilot trial of store-and-forward telemedicine in 2010, initially operating separate networks in English, French, and Spanish; these were merged into a single, multilingual platform in 2013. We reviewed the pattern of teleradiology usage on the MSF telemedicine platform in the 4-year period from April 2010. In total, 564 teleradiology cases were submitted from 22 different countries. A total of 1114 files were uploaded with the 564 cases, the majority being of type JPEG (n = 1081, 97%). The median file size was 938 kb (interquartile range, IQR 163-1659). A panel of 14 radiologists was available to report cases, but most (90%) were reported by only 4 radiologists. The median radiologist response time was 6.1 h (IQR 3.0-20). A user satisfaction survey was sent to 29 users in the last 6 months of the study. There was a 28% response rate. Most respondents found the radiologist's advice helpful and all of them stated that the advice assisted in clarification of a diagnosis. Although some MSF sites made substantial use of the system for teleradiology, there is considerable potential for expansion. More promotion of telemedicine may be needed at different levels of the organization to increase engagement of staff.
Médecins Sans Frontières Diagnostic Network , Amsterdam , Netherlands.
Jarred
J
Halton
Médecins Sans Frontières Diagnostic Network , Amsterdam , Netherlands.
Cara
C
Kosack
Médecins Sans Frontières Diagnostic Network , Amsterdam , Netherlands ; Epworth Medical Imaging, Epworth Freemasons Hospital , Melbourne, VIC , Australia.
Saskia
S
Spijker
Department of Radiology, Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospital NHS Trust , Liverpool , UK.
Elizabeth
E
Joekes
Department of Radiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand , Johannesburg , South Africa.
Savvas
S
Andronikou
Department of Radiology, Alder Hey Children's Hospital , Liverpool , UK.
Karen
K
Chetcuti
Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging, University of Virginia Health System , Charlottesville, VA , USA ; Department of Radiology, University of Colorado , Denver, CO , USA.
William E
WE
Brant
EA 4569, Department of Medical Ethics and Legal Medicine, Paris Descartes University , Paris , France ; Fondation Médecins Sans Frontières , Paris , France.
Laurent
L
Bonnardot
Norwegian Centre for Integrated Care and Telemedicine, University Hospital of North Norway , Tromsø , Norway ; Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Tromsø , Tromsø , Norway.
Richard
R
Wootton
LMICs; telehealth; telemedicine; teleradiology