FAQs

1.

What is Teleradiology?

It's a process of image transfer using specific standards and efficient systems from one place to another without image quality degradation /loss for fast diagnosis, second opinion and review.

2.

How can it benefit my organization?

Situation A:
In a busy organization with high study traffic, there is a high stress on imagiologists. In such a scenario there is a pile of cases. SPSOFT takes over the reporting and makes the report in a TAT of 3 hours. These cases are thus made available on the platter for the centers radiologist to review and report. The advantage here is, the report has undergone double screening and it's readily available with all the editing in place, the radiologist performing the final interpretation just needs to sign the report.

Situation B:
A centre with no radiologist available can directly load the cases on the secure FTP and transfer it across and we report the cases for you.

Situation C:
Cases and files are there, want a second opinion and live discussion on them - but are uncomfortable to discuss with your colleagues in your vicinity. Pick us up and we provide you the discussions live while watching your screen using VPN and secure networks. You will be amazed by the differentials, list of possibilities and valuable opinions our radiologists can provide. Timing for such meet can be adjusted as per the client's demand with an advance notice of 3 to 5 hours.

Situation D:
You have a day case of load which you want to be taken care of or a night hawking - after the radiologist retires for the day. Don't worry we make your and the radiologists job easier. We provide reports ready and done so when the radiologists come back in the morning all the night cases are done and reported ready for their final review and sign.

Situation E:
You have a high end scanner, but can't perform high end 3D on them due to lack of time for image post processing. Don't fret we are there. Send us the raw data and see the 3D recons, MIP, MPR and VR we can perform. All this and more in a 3 to 12 hour time frame.

Thus the above situations indicate it's a win-win for everybody since are main focus is prelim and Pre-Reads.

3.

What is learning curve?

Our radiologists are well versed with their subspecialty scan reports, but not versed with your style and pattern and also your protocol for reporting scans. During the trial phase we encourage you to send all the templates to us so we study your style. The same subspecialists will be assigned to all your reports. This is the learning curve.

4.

Can good image post processing change my business?

Post processing of images is vital in understanding the normal anatomy and its variants, to understand extent of mass, its relations to adjacent structures. Good post processing can do all this and more considering the requirement of the case. Trauma, oncology or post surgical / post implant cases / cardiac CT; our technologist will perform the 3D reconstructions, Volume Rendering, Maximum Intensity Projections, Minimum Intensity Projections, Multiplanar Reconstructions.  All these are performed on a Mac based platform using high end graphic cards and video displays. Images are then provided back as a cine recording uploaded on your FTP. The finer the quality of the raw data files you provide us the better the recons.

5.

What are preliminary reads?

These are not final diagnostic interpretations. Here a radiologist does a preliminary report. This report needs to be seen by the specialist who is authorized to sign it and finally report it. All cases sent for Pre-Read and Preliminary Read reports can be anonymized if needed.

6.

Is Teleradiology workable option?

Stats have to say this: “Investigations are increasing at 15% rate while radiologists at just 2%”. Teleradiology is presently benefitting a select group of people who volunteer to learn and try business models in changing scenario. This is the future of radiology and its here to stay.

7.

What are the qualifications of your radiologist?

Our radiologists are graduates from accredited medical schools after passing the licensing examination; they have completed a residency programme of at least four years. Residency programme focuses on specific medical education in such fields as quality interpretation of medical imaging examinations and radiation safety. Radiologists also often complete a fellowship - one to two additional years of specialized training - in a particular subspecialty of radiology, such as breast imaging, cardiovascular radiology, or nuclear medicine. If you take into account four years of undergraduate education, the average radiologist has more than 12 years of training. Radiologists are Indian Board Certified.

8.

What is the advantage of working directly with SPSOFT compared to a stand alone providers/competitors?

Working directly with SPSOFT avoids additional charges that recruiting companies or locums can add. Using SPSOFT's Teleradiology services, you still get the radiology staffing help you need. You get immediate savings compared to working with locums or physician recruiting companies. Additionally our transcription team (Specialized in Radiology) is readily available to take care of your transcription needs.

1.

How do I get started?

Send an email to contact@spsoftindia.com and we will do the needful.

2.

How to perform a trial?

You select the cases you want to be reviewed in the free trial. You anonymize the vital information/demographics. Load the DICOM images on the secure FTP. The details of the secure FTP will be provided to you. You may also provide us some history in a word document along with the case. We will report the case and send it across. We accept only DICOM files for reporting. Throughout the entire process; our technical experts and radiologist will be in touch with you. After the trial you can opt to continue or discontinue the process.

3.

How soon can you accommodate us?

Immediately

1.

What is TAT?

TAT - is the Turn Around Time. It varies from 2 to 24 hours. It is devised as per the client's notification.

2.

Do you take up Static Turn-Around Time work? (STAT)

Yes. (2-10 hours)

3.

How soon can cases be completed and delivered to our office?

Within 24 hours (SPSOFT can also deliver on a STAT of 2-10 hours on special needs from its clients)

4.

Does your transcription staff sign Nondisclosure and confidentiality agreements?

Yes, all our transcriptionists as well as supporting staff need to sign Nondisclosure and confidentiality agreements, prior to joining us.

5.

Is my data secured?

SPSOFT is in the medical process outsourcing business for quite a few years. We have been the pioneers of Teleradiology services in Pune. We have a HIPAA compliant system in place with controlled and restricted data access and strict maintenance of computer log/audit trails. Meet us on net for a walk through our company and see the infrastructure. Meet our radiologists and talk to them. Ask them questions and get answers. Our motto is to make you feel comfortable.

6.

What is special in your reports?

Apart from accurate reading of the reports we do the following.

1. We perform transcription and perform a complete spell check and weed out grammatical errors
2. Tag the key images which can be printed in the report
3. Annotate the key image. For ex: L4-L5 disc radial tear
4. A special feature in our cases is the case discussion: which the radiologists may or may not use in its final reporting. The discussion parts of the reports are used in special cases and are charged extra - since these will be referenced with standard journals.

1.

How does overseas radiologist take part in live discussions and perform live case reads?

We set up a Virtual Private Network (VPN) for your system. Once the system is up, you can enlist the cases on which you want second opinion and live discussions and tag them. Once our radiologists visit your screen through the VPN - you start showing the cases and converse with the radiologists using a dedicated chat channel. Simultaneously our rads start making reports - which actually works out to be a summary of the case/finding/differentials and references in literature.

2.

I am not quite an expert with the computer, how can I upload the files?

You have two options:

1. Secure FTP -
   We provide secure and unique FTP access to all our clients to upload files into our FTP server. You really need not be a computer expert; we will instruct you step by step how to load your DICOM files in the FTP.
2. PACS User -
   If you are a PACS user, you need to instruct your technical expert to provide limited access to your PACS.

3.

How will I receive transcription from your side?

We will send you the transcripts through secure FTP.

4.

Do you keep all the completed files on a private FTP site for me only?

Yes (One client one FTP site).

5.

Do you provide training to our staff to get going with the FTP setup?

Yes, we do provide training to your staff on how to use FTP. 20 minutes is all that it takes for a person with minimal knowledge of computer.

6.

How long do you keep our files?

We keep it for a month.

7.

What information I need to share with the offshore radiologists?

Scan protocols, report templates, history, type of study performed, feedback/your valuable comments on the reports.
Please send us email at contact@spsoftindia.com. Mention the time zone, convenient mode of communication either by email or phone and we will get in touch with you.

Let's be partners in progress.

8.

How are priors and comparisons handled?

We request relevant prior exams and reports are sent with the current study. If prior images are not available digitally, prior reports should be digitized and sent to us using a document scanner.

1.

How do you work with payments?

Payments can be done on a monthly basis through -

1. Wire transfers - Direct bank transfer. Bank may charge you a fee to wire funds
2. PayPal - In case of payment through www.paypal.com we charge additional 4% on invoice amount. You can use your Credit Cards or eCheck while making payment through www.paypal.com

2.

What are your pricing structures?

We will work with your facility to develop the most cost effective plan while ensuring the highest level of quality service. Please send email to contact@spsoftindia.com for more details.

3.

How would we be billed?

The billing would be on a monthly basis.

4.

Can we know how much bill we are running?

On request from the client we can send a summary of billing statement for the current month.

5.

Is there a minimum charge for your service?

No minimums and no registration or enrollment fees.

6.

How much does SPSOFT charge for STAT jobs?

STAT cases are charged on a different scale while cases with a TAT of 12 and 24 hours are charged on a different scale.

1.

What are your support services?

We provide 24x7 technical and application support services.

2.

Where are your radiologists based of?

Our radiologists are based out of India. All our radiologist's are well qualified and experienced.

3.

Where are your offices located?

We have our headquarters at Pune in India.