Teleradiology in rural imaging centres.

An economic analysis of a private commercial magnetic resonance (MR) imaging service was carried out. At an expected case-load of 2000 per year, a mid-field MR unit was predicted to cost $470 per case using teleradiology and $544 per case using film and a courier service. Routine and emergency MR services were provided to two communities in Maryland. In a two-year study period, 8083 teleradiology examinations were performed. Digital images were acquired and transmitted without data compression via ISDN at 128 kbit/s to a central diagnostic workstation for interpretation by a team of radiologists. The average transmission time for a typical case of 50 images was 6-8 min. Preliminary interpretations were normally available within 2 h and the final transcribed reports were usually faxed to the physicians' offices within 24 h. The results of a survey indicated that the system was well received by both referring physicians and patients. Costs per case in practice were similar to those predicted.