Teleradiology services
Teleradiology, scoped around your day.
Radstead teleradiology covers the remote interpretation and reporting of the examinations and hours you agree, with a documented route for urgent findings. The scope is written down before the first study, so both sides know exactly what is covered.
What remote reading includes
More than a report in a queue.
A reading service is the interpretation plus everything that makes it usable: context in, communication out, and a way to correct and improve.
- Interpretation and report
- Preliminary or final, by modality and coverage window, in the format your systems receive.
- Urgent-finding communication
- A direct call to the treating team through the documented route, recorded every time.
- Comparison with prior studies
- Relevant priors made available through the integration and referenced in the report.
- Questions and clarifications
- A route for technologists and referring clinicians to reach a reader during agreed hours.
- Addenda and corrections
- Changes issued with the original preserved, and significant changes communicated directly.
- Quality review
- Peer review, discrepancy follow-up and service measures, reviewed with your team.
Coverage patterns
Five patterns, one 24-hour scale.
Most coverage is one of these patterns or a combination. The bands show an example window; the actual hours are set around your schedule and time zone.
Coverage pattern
Daytime reading
Example: weekdays, 08:00–18:00
Best for
Imaging centers and departments where local radiologist time is limited, or where routine work builds up during clinic hours.
Define together
- Daily volume by hour, and when same-day reports are expected
- Where reports go: RIS, EHR, PACS or delivery to referring offices
- How technologists reach a reader with protocol or image-quality questions
Watch for
Morning peaks after overnight imaging can crowd out routine work. Agree the reading order before the first busy day.
Coverage pattern
Evenings & weekends
Example: weekdays 17:00–23:00, weekends 08:00–20:00
Best for
Facilities with late scanning hours, weekend outpatient sessions, or hospital services that slow down but never stop.
Define together
- The exact start and end of the window, in the facility time zone
- Which priorities are read in the window and which wait for the next day
- Who is on call locally for questions, contrast reactions and escalation
Watch for
Each end of the window is a handoff. Decide who owns studies acquired in the last hour before it closes.
Coverage pattern
Overnight
Example: every night, 22:00–08:00
Best for
Hospitals and emergency departments that need interpretation while their own radiologists are off.
Define together
- Preliminary or final reports, by modality and priority
- Morning review: who reviews overnight preliminary reports and how changes reach the treating team
- Urgent-finding calls: who is called, how, and where the call is documented
Watch for
A change between preliminary and final interpretation must reach the treating clinician by a named, documented route.
Coverage pattern
Overflow & backlog
Triggered by volume, absences or backlog, not by the clock
Best for
Radiology practices and imaging groups with seasonal peaks, vacations, recruitment gaps or a backlog to clear.
Define together
- Which examinations may route out, and the rule that routes them
- How assignment prevents two radiologists opening the same study
- How outside reports appear to your referrers: templates, sign-off and contact line
Watch for
Without a written routing rule, overflow drifts into cherry-picking. Agree the rule, then review how it is working.
Coverage pattern
Modality-specific
Example: scheduled weekday sessions
Best for
Facilities adding a modality without the local reading depth or volume to staff it full-time.
Define together
- The examination list and protocols for the modality
- Reader qualifications specific to that modality
- Reporting templates, measurements and comparison needs
Watch for
Specialized studies depend on complete acquisitions. Agree how incomplete studies are returned for repeat or additional images.
Modality scope
Each modality, defined on its own terms.
Start with the examinations you perform today. Each modality brings its own questions about protocols, comparisons and what is arranged separately.
X-ray & DR
Everyday radiography, clearly prioritized.
Usually the highest-volume work. Coverage is organized around daily volume, priority and where each report needs to go.
Add it to your coverage briefDefine together
- Examination mix and daily volume by hour
- Routine and urgent priorities, measured the same way
- Escalation route for time-sensitive findings
Arranged separately
Fluoroscopy and any examination that needs a physician present.
Ultrasound
Connect the acquisition with the question.
Ultrasound interpretation depends on the images and measurements the sonographer captures. Scope the examination types and the worksheet data that travel with them.
Add it to your coverage briefDefine together
- General, vascular and specialty examination mix
- Sonographer worksheets, measurements and image completeness
- Priors, report templates and escalation
Arranged separately
Ultrasound-guided procedures and any real-time scanning by a radiologist.
DEXA
Bone density reporting, done consistently.
Define how densitometry results and measurements reach the reader and how consistent reports return to referring clinicians.
Add it to your coverage briefDefine together
- Scanner output and software version
- Measurement sites and comparison with prior scans
- Report format and destination
Arranged separately
Scanner calibration and quality control, which stay with the facility.
CT
Cross-sectional imaging, read in context.
CT coverage is shaped by body region, contrast use and urgency, and by the history and prior studies available at the moment of reading.
Add it to your coverage briefDefine together
- Body regions, protocols and contrast phases
- Clinical history and authorized prior studies
- Urgent communication and preliminary or final reports
Arranged separately
Supervision of contrast administration and CT-guided procedures.
MRI
Complex studies, a considered workflow.
MRI brings longer examinations, more sequences and more specialty questions. Scope the anatomy, the protocols and how referring clinicians use the report.
Add it to your coverage briefDefine together
- Anatomy, protocols and specialty needs
- Complete sequences and relevant prior imaging
- Reporting expectations by referrer group
Arranged separately
Supervision of contrast administration and MRI safety oversight.
Breast imaging
A program of its own.
Screening and diagnostic mammography, tomosynthesis and breast ultrasound each carry distinct requirements, including MQSA for mammography.
Plan breast imagingDefine together
- Screening or diagnostic scope for each breast modality
- MQSA interpreting-physician requirements, including DBT
- Result letters, recalls and follow-up ownership
Arranged separately
The facility’s lead interpreting physician role and image-guided breast procedures.
Remote and onsite
A clear line between remote and onsite.
Remote interpretation does not quietly include onsite duties. The table shows what a reading scope includes, what is agreed together and what needs its own arrangement.
| Responsibility | Remote reading scope | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Interpretation and signed report for agreed examinations | Included | Scope set by modality, priority and window |
| Urgent-finding calls and documentation | Included | Uses your call list and escalation route |
| Report questions from clinicians and technologists | Included | During the agreed coverage hours |
| Addenda and corrected reports | Included | With direct notice of significant changes |
| Protocol questions during acquisition | Agreed together | Who answers, and how quickly |
| Supervision of contrast administration | Separate | Payer rules, state requirements and facility policy apply |
| Image-guided procedures | Separate | Requires a physician onsite |
| Medical direction and protocol ownership | Separate | A distinct agreement and responsibility |
| MQSA lead interpreting physician for mammography | Separate | A facility designation under MQSA |
Priorities and turnaround
Fast means nothing until it is defined.
Each priority needs a plain definition, a way of flagging it and a measure that starts and stops at agreed events. The ACR practice parameter on communication separates routine reporting from nonroutine communication of findings that need urgent action; the scope should do the same.
How service measures are definedSTAT
Typical useFindings that may change immediate management, often from the emergency department.
AgreeWho calls whom, and when an unanswered call escalates.
Urgent
Typical useNeeded sooner than routine work, but not immediately.
AgreeThe expected window, and how urgent studies are flagged in your RIS.
Routine
Typical useScheduled outpatient and inpatient examinations.
AgreeSame-day or next-day expectations, and the daily cutoff.
Questions
Before you ask for a proposal.
What does a teleradiology service cover?
Interpretation and reporting for the examinations and hours you agree, communication of urgent findings, answers to report questions, addenda and quality review. What it covers is written into the scope, including whether each examination type receives a preliminary or a final report.
Can we start with some modalities and add others later?
Yes. Many facilities begin with their highest-volume or hardest-to-staff modalities. Adding CT, MRI or breast imaging later is a scope change with its own reader eligibility and integration checks.
When is a preliminary report used instead of a final?
Preliminary reports are common overnight in emergency settings, followed by a final report. The scope says which applies to each modality and window, and how any change between the two reaches the treating clinician. See preliminary and final reports.
Does remote reading include contrast supervision or procedures?
No. Supervision of contrast administration, image-guided procedures and medical direction are separate responsibilities with their own requirements. They are identified during scoping so nothing is assumed.
What affects the price?
Volume and modality mix, the hours covered, priority expectations, preliminary or final reporting, any specialty requirements and the integration work involved. The scoping guide explains each factor.
How soon can coverage start?
After licensure and credentialing, agreements, the connection build and end-to-end validation. Several of these run in parallel; the onboarding checklist shows what to start first.
References
Primary sources
Professional guidance referred to on this page.
- ACR Practice Parameter for Communication of Diagnostic Imaging FindingsAmerican College of Radiology · Revised 2025
- ACR Practice Parameter for Radiologist Coverage of Imaging Performed in Hospital Emergency DepartmentsAmerican College of Radiology · Revised 2023
Coverage planner
Bring your scope into focus.
Modalities, priorities, hours and systems on one page. The planner prepares a brief in your browser that you can download, copy or email to the contact you choose.