Exploring the Landscape of Home-Based Teleradiology in Japan: A Qualitative Analysis of Radiologists’ and Neurosurgeons’ Experiences to Elucidate Advantages, Challenges, and Future Directions

Ueki, Shinya; Kaneda, Yudai; Ozaki, Akihiko; Kotera, Yasuhiro; Tanimoto, Tetsuya; Omoto, Yuka; Kurosaki, Kana; Yamazaki, Hiroki; Yoshida, Takahito; Mizoue, Nozomi; Yoshimura, Hiroki; Hayashi, Yuka; Shimamura, Yasuteru

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the advantages, disadvantages, working methods, and support needs of physicians practicing teleradiology from home in Japan, as well as to explore challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 physicians (12 radiologists and 3 neurosurgeons) engaged in teleradiology services. Participants were recruited through purposive sampling to ensure diversity in age, gender, and experience. Data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis following Braun and Clarke’s six-step approach. Five main themes were generated: (1) the ability to work from home according to one’s lifestyle, allowing for better work-life balance; (2) reduced quality and efficiency of reading work, due to limited patient information and lack of immediate consultation; (3) self-management and reliance on available resources, including literature searches and networking with colleagues; (4) need for comfortable infrastructure facilities, such as high-quality monitors and stable internet connections; and (5) provision of resources to resolve questions and concerns, including platforms for peer discussions. Interestingly, no specific themes related to the COVID-19 pandemic were identified, suggesting that the challenges of teleradiology were not uniquely affected by the pandemic. While home-based teleradiology offers lifestyle flexibility, it presents challenges in maintaining work quality and efficiency. Physicians employ self-management strategies and rely on available resources to mitigate these challenges. The findings highlight the need for improved infrastructure and support systems to enhance the practice of home-based teleradiology in Japan. This study contributes to the growing body of literature on remote healthcare delivery and may inform policy decisions and best practices in diagnostic radiology both in Japan and internationally.

Citation

Ueki, S., Kaneda, Y., Ozaki, A., Kotera, Y., Tanimoto, T., Omoto, Y., Kurosaki, K., Yamazaki, H., Yoshida, T., Mizoue, N., Yoshimura, H., Hayashi, Y., & Shimamura, Y. (2024). Exploring the Landscape of Home-Based Teleradiology in Japan: A Qualitative Analysis of Radiologists’ and Neurosurgeons’ Experiences to Elucidate Advantages, Challenges, and Future Directions. SN Comprehensive Clinical Medicine, 6(1), Article 90. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42399-024-01722-1

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 21, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Aug 28, 2024
• Publication Date: Aug 28, 2024
• Deposit Date: Aug 31, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 3, 2024
• Journal: SN Comprehensive Clinical Medicine
• Electronic ISSN: 2523-8973
• Publisher: Springer (part of Springer Nature)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 6
• Issue: 1
• Article Number: 90
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42399-024-01722-1
• Keywords: Healthcare technology, Teleradiology, Japan, Work-life balance, Qualitative research, Home-based work
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/38913567
• Publisher URL: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42399-024-01722-1
• Additional Information: Accepted: 21 August 2024; First Online: 28 August 2024; : ; : This study was approved by the Ethical Review Committee of the Medical Governance Research Institute (No. MG2021-02–20210426), and all the participants gave their consent to participate in this study.; : All study participants consented to participate in the study.; : All authors (SU, YK1, AO, YK2, TT, YO, KK, HY1, TY, NM, HY2, YH, and YS) consented to the publication of this article.; : AO receives personal fees from Medical Network Systems Inc. and has received fees from Kyowa Kirin Inc., Becton, Dickinson and Company, Pfizer, Daiichi Sankyo Inc., and Taiho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., outside the scope of the submitted work. He also uses a remote diagnostic imaging application, LOOKREC, which was developed by Medical Network Systems Inc. for remote diagnosis of medical imaging. TT receives personal fees from Medical Network Systems Inc. and has received fees from Bionics Co. Ltd., outside the scope of the submitted work. US, YO, KK, HY1, TY, NM, HY2, and YH were engaged with Medical Network Systems Inc. as interns, and YS is its employee.