Vesta Teleradiology | Telemedicine

What Cancer Patients Expect From Doctors

Having cancer is terrifying. No matter how brave a person can seem on the outside, inside they are scared. When an oncology patient goes to see their doctor, they are vulnerable and have deep expectations.

Ultimately, patients expect their doctor(s) to help them. This pertains to emotional support, health and medical concerns, legal rights, and even spiritual needs. Establishing good patient-provider communication is the cornerstone of this important relationship.

Many patients have taken the popular patient-directed approach to deal with a diagnosis with the patient doing their own research, not all patients view their role in this way though. Some patients are “old school” and expect their doctor to be the informed leader and wisely guide them through their journey, especially older patients. A combination of provider-directed and patient-directed approaches is reasonable. Through this process, a doctor’s ability to assist a patient through the stress and emotions of their diagnosis is critical. Reading verbal and non-verbal cues is one of the most important skills a doctor can offer their patients. Next, a doctor needs to offer what they know their patients need, providing comfort or knowledge or listening or other support. Last, an effective provider helps their patient share power by allowing meaningful involvement in care choices.

patient expectations — A nurse watches over patient

In addition, cancer patients expect their doctors to tell them the truth. Hearing bad news is hard. Telling someone bad news is hard also, but it is a necessary skill that patients need their doctors to be able to perform well. Providers need to be capable within the role of informing their patients of uncomfortable and scary information. An appropriate balance as a compassionate, matter-of-fact communicator is important to affect positive patient outcomes. This includes the swift viewing capability to private electronic medical information, in-person consultation, and sharing information with the family. Keeping in mind that truth without compassion is cruelty, cancer patients want their doctors to allow them free access to the truth about themselves as they are ready to receive it, and that their information record is 100% private and secure.

Upholding the Patients’ Bill of Rights and HIPAA is another expectation a cancer patient has of their doctor. Although the right to access and affect their medical records and who sees them belongs to the patient, the doctor’s awareness and voice to ensure they remain protected can strengthen trust between the patient and doctor. Privacy and confidentiality are extremely important to many patients. When a doctor upholds a federal law designed for protecting patients at a time life may seem bleak, the horizon can seem a little brighter.

patient care — Cancer patients expect truth and transparency

Vesta Teleradiology works with doctors, hospitals, and all types of healthcare facilities in order to bring superior radiology support. Our radiologists work nights, weekends, and holidays. Look to Vesta for a radiology company that is focused on helping you provide optimal care to your patients.

Patient Comfort During Diagnostic Imaging

The role of the radiologist has changed over recent years. The health care world once thought of these professionals as sitting in a dark room interpreting imaging data and writing reports.

Today, diagnostic imaging is used by physicians more, and the radiologist’s role has become more centrally involved with patient care. There are opportunities to connect to the patients during the diagnostic imaging process that other health care providers don’t have.

Patient comfort during any healthcare procedure provides a series of activities that gain trust and provide emotional security in the process. Diagnosticians’ communication with their patients must convey that the staff is dependable, empathetic, and knowledgeable.

Environment

When patients first arrive for their appointment, they may be apprehensive and anxious about what their diagnostic imaging may reveal about their health and future.

The waiting room is where the patients not only wait for their appointment, but it is a place where they can talk with family members. Giving the seating lots of space allows areas with quiet corners for people to speak and express anxieties they may be experiencing.

A waiting room with plants, windows, and possibly waterfalls and nature scenes provides space for relaxation, gathering thoughts, and exploring possible questions about the procedure.

Physical Comfort

Diagnosticians performing a baseline assessment of the patient’s pain levels before, during, and after any invasive procedure is essential. It is also necessary to educate staff on any pain control protocols.

Patients appreciate simple office organization like short wait times in scheduling to minimize stress. Patients also appreciate comfortable procedure gowns, comfortable room temperatures, and warm blankets, along with sheets and pillows covering the procedure tables.

By reducing the technology sounds like beepers and overhead speakers, patients can have an easier time relaxing.

Communication

Effective communication can begin with the diagnostician partnering with the patient and their families to ensure that needs and preferences are being met. By involving the patient and their family, decision-making becomes more straightforward and more confident.

Patient-centered communication skills encourage the patient to talk about psychosocial issues that may affect their health or procedures. Through this communication process, the diagnostician can respect their patient’s requests and values and address or provide counseling and resources for patient support.

patient doctor communication

The top priority in the patient and health care provider relationship is maintaining an open and honest relationship. Diagnosticians can be sure the patient understands the procedures and the results of the processes by spending time, and using any tools that can assist is most valuable.

Tools like questionnaires, pamphlets, and visual aids can help the health care provider explain the benefits, risks, procedures, and processes or what is happening with the patient’s health.

Paying attention to the patient’s emotional concerns and using their own words when encouraging them to express themselves builds their trust with their health care providers.

Imaging diagnosticians can use the time spent with the patient as teachable moments. For example, during mammography appointments, staff can inform and educate patients about the importance of colon screening and bone density tests.

It is also crucial for health care providers to practice restraint and allow quiet time for their patients. There is sometimes a tremendous amount of information to process, and it takes time for patients to deal with their feelings and formulate essential questions they may have.

enhanced patient experience

The importance of diagnostic imaging will continue to expand in the health care field. Advancements in cancer treatments, diagnoses, and disease prevention rely heavily on the professionalism of diagnostic imaging.

These health care professionals can experience positive relationships and trust with their patients by providing needed emotional support and conveying a genuine sense of caring.

Vesta Teleradiology wants to help you make your patients’ experience as streamlined as possible. That’s why we offer tools and customizable reports that work WITH your current workflow. We also offer 24x7x365 radiology reading services so your radiologists can have a better work life balance.

Healthcare Quality Week: Thank you Radiology and Imaging

This week, your mind might be on the upcoming Halloween holiday and fall festivities that come around this time of year. But did you know that October 17-23 is actually Healthcare Quality Week? This week of observance is “a dedicated time to celebrate the profession and raise awareness of the positive impact healthcare quality professionals have in their organizations and communities.”

Since Vesta has a team of dedicated radiologists as well as clients in healthcare facilities across the nation, we want to take time to acknowledge these amazing people and the processes they expertly and caringly carry out in order to provide quality healthcare.

Radiology and Imaging: A Game Changer

Radiology and imaging is one of the greatest inventions of the late nineteenth century. This powerful tool has been studied and developed, enabling millions of lives to be saved and an array of scientific discoveries in the fields of physics and biology.

xray radiology Going back to the beginning, the first X-ray picture in 1895 by Wilhelm Rontgen led to many scientific discoveries, ultimately earning Rontgenthe Nobel Prize in physics in 1901. Since then, the field of Imaging and Radiology has grown exponentially. The mystery of how matter converts energy became the focus of study as Albert Einstein furthered the exploration in 1903, allowing the world to begin to understand how these powerful rays demonstrated what our senses could not detect. Subsequently, fossils, art masterpieces, the earth, solar systems, and the universe were radioactively dated, and in 1953 the double helix of DNA was captured. From these and many other discoveries, multiple fields of study have evolved in Radiology and Imaging.

Cancer

Using radiation instead of chemotherapy to treat cancer is advantageous because radiation can be directed to the infected cells and avoid surrounding cells to a large degree. Benefits to radiation and the way it works is described in the following quote:

“Radiation works by making small breaks in the DNA inside cells. These breaks keep cancer cells from growing and dividing and cause them to die.”

Utilizing radiation to treat cancer minimizes symptoms and preserves healthy cells, as opposed to chemotherapy. In some cases, chemotherapy drugs can weaken cells making them more sensitive to radiation. Ultimately, the ability to direct radiation can effectively kill specific cancer cells. This is a powerful phenomenon, especially when faced with a deadly disease.

Working as a medical imaging technologist combines a wide array of skills. Patient care, technological aptitude, data analysis, and people skills allow for a challenging and rewarding multilayered career, one that is only possible due to the discovery of electromagnetic radiation in a wavelength range over one hundred years ago. Saving lives and improving quality of life due to what we all commonly call the “X-ray”, it is only appropriate to marvel at the work of Wilhelm Rontgen and thank him.

More Notable Imaging Methods that Changed the World

Fluoroscopy is a medical imaging test that uses an x-ray beam. It passes continuously through the body to create a projected image on a monitor which allows doctors to see the movement of internal organs in real-time. This is extremely helpful during surgery. Other ways fluoroscopy benefits patients are with barium X-ray enemas to examine the gastrointestinal tract, catheter insertion to direct a catheter through blood vessels, placing devices in the body such as stents, and in orthopedic surgery with joint replacement.

Ultrasound, also called sonography, uses sound waves to create internal images of the body. It is commonly used to confirm and date a pregnancy. It is also used in diagnosing a wide variety of other conditions. Diseases affecting the organs and soft tissues can be diagnosed with the help of ultrasound. This includes the heart, blood vessels, liver, gallbladder, spleen, pancreas, kidneys, bladder, uterus, ovaries, eyes, thyroid, and testicles.

3D ultrasound Fun Fact: the 3-D ultrasound actually takes thousands of photos at once to create a 3d image that is extremely clear.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or ultrasound imaging, has aided many women in avoiding having a hysterectomy. Many times, the cause of bleeding is a fibroid and a uterine fibroid embolization (UFE) is needed instead. An interventional radiologist can perform this minimally invasive treatment for women with symptomatic fibroids which can be assessed through an (MRI) and then also offer further assessment and counseling.

Transvaginal ultrasound lets most women with malignant gestational trophoblastic disease be cured. Without this procedure, the cancerous and potentially cancerous cells of the pregnancy would continue to thrive putting the mother’s life at risk. Through early detection, partial and complete molar pregnancy can be detected and treated by removing it from the uterus and reproductive function can be preserved.

6 Tips to Make the Most of Your RSNA Trip!

The top radiological minds meet every year at RSNA. Will you be one of them next month? If you plan to join Vesta Teleradiology and other key radiology thought leaders pioneering the field, take note of these attendee tips below to make the most of your trip!

Secure your bed!

Chicago is a big city, but hotel rooms nearest McCormick Place (the show’s site) sell out fast. And who wants to walk far in the cold weather? If you haven’t booked your room, don’t waste another minute! Click here to see the recommended hotels by RSNA and get your RSNA rate before Monday, November 25.

Bust out your calendar

What’s your purpose for attending? There will be exhibitors, plenaries and other sessions, tons of opportunity to network, or you may even be exhibiting yourself. Regardless, look at your big blocked commitments and immediately start to schedule in the blanks. Even checking the show floor’s hours (Hint: no hours on Sunday, Dec. 1 or after 2 pm ET on Thursday, Dec. 5) is a good idea to make sure your floor time can actually be floor time.

We all have a Type A side

Is part of that newly created plan to have a few important meetings with clients, potential clients, or maybe even industry allies? Where will you go? In the past, there have been few spots in McCormick Place to “grab a chair,” so we recommend booking a conference room at a nearby hotel, reserving a restaurant dining space, or even scout out the nearest coffee shops.

If you have a clearly defined location, you can make the most of your meeting agenda time! We also encourage sending an invitation via Google or Outlook with the location articulated and be sure to add buffer travel time to get to and from!

Not sure what to do with free time?

Have an hour or two in between business development meetings and sessions? Our favorite way to spend free time is walking the show floor to gather competitive intel and notice incoming industry trends. Feel free to schedule a meeting with us to learn about teleradiology, if it’s new to you, or if it’s not, to learn about some of what we’ve picked up on during the show, too!

Cross your Ts

Who from your group is attending? What are their individual objectives, and can you divide and conquer to make the most of your holistic organization’s attendance? Attending this show can be extremely fruitful if you plan accordingly (and you want to make the most of the registration fee!) so even making time at the end of each day, or the end of the show, to document your findings and make more informed plans for next year, can help you benefit from the RSNA annual meeting experience.

And, as always…

Get those feet ready. If you’ve attended any type of tradeshow or conference you know this, but RSNA is huge, and you will do a lot of walking. Wear comfortable shoes, take any chance you get to grab a seat and be sure to rest your feet in the evenings. Don’t forget to turn on your fitness tracker to at least get credit for all those steps!

Want to connect at RSNA? Contact us today to coordinate.

Vesta Teleradiology Announces Industry’s First Rate Guarantee

Vesta Teleradiology, is pleased to announce the industry’s first ‘Three Year Rate Guarantee.’

Imaging facilities are facing tremendous financial pressure with falling reimbursements, stricter billing requirements and consumerism of healthcare. In this environment of reduced profit margins, Vesta is announcing the industry’s first, ‘Three Year Rate Guarantee’ to all current and new clients.

Vesta’s Three Year Rate Guarantee: All Vesta clients will never pay more than the initial agreement rate, for a minimum of 3 years.

“Hospitals, Urgent Care Centers, Imaging Centers and Mobile X-Ray providers are seeing reduced profit margins, in part due to reductions in insurance reimbursements. In an effort to provide these service providers with price stability, we are pleased to offer the industry’s first rate guarantee,” stated Vijay Vonguru, President of Vesta Teleradiology.

“In addition, to this Industry First Rate Guarantee, Vesta is reviewing additional ways for our clients to contain costs while we continue to provide the high level of service our clients receive,” Vijay added.

About Vesta Teleradiology:

Vesta brings you teleradiology solutions and services, providing 24x7x365 access to our highly qualified Board Certified radiologists through a secure PACS. At Vesta, we offer comprehensive, affordable radiology solutions for our partners. Vesta has been a pioneer in supportive diagnostic workflow technology and quality diagnostic services. We are steadfast in our passion to remain at the forefront of innovation in healthcare. We offer night and holiday coverage.

Prospective clients are offered a free test drive of Vesta’s teleradiology service. Please contact us to schedule a demo.