Saudi Arabia’s healthcare sector is the largest in the region and continues to be a key priority in the Kingdom’s plans. As part of Vision 2030, significant investments are being made in both public and private healthcare to enhance coverage and adopt advanced digital health technologies. This focus has established Saudi Arabia as the largest medical device market in the region, setting the stage for unprecedented growth in healthcare services overall, and teleradiology specifically.

Leading the transformation of teleradiology in KSA is Rology, a Saudi-based MoH-licensed teleradiology provider with an FDA-cleared AI-powered platform. Rology is dedicated to improving healthcare delivery through its cutting-edge technology, network of Saudi-licensed radiology consultants, and offering innovative, high-quality radiology services across the Kingdom.

Radiology: A Booming Sector in Saudi Healthcare

Radiology in Saudi Arabia is experiencing remarkable growth. According to the Ministry of Health, over 18 million radiology procedures were conducted in public and private hospitals throughout 2023, not to mention other healthcare facilities. The country also ranks in the top three globally for radiology equipment density (measured as units per million inhabitants), highlighting the Kingdom’s commitment to advanced medical infrastructure, according to the European Coordination Committee of the Radiological, Electromedical, and Healthcare IT Industry (COCIR).

As healthcare accessibility improves and the population grows, the demand for radiology reporting services has risen sharply. Yet, the geographical expanse of Saudi Arabia makes delivering consistent care challenging. Large distances between cities and underserved remote areas exacerbate these difficulties.

Delivering High-Quality Radiology Despite Staffing Challenges

With rising demand, the supply of radiologists has struggled to keep pace. Saudi Arabia’s radiology departments are facing significant staffing shortages, particularly in specialized expertise. Although the number of general radiologists in KSA has grown, it still falls short of the increasing demand for specialized diagnostic services. This shortage is particularly severe in remote areas, where access to radiologists is very limited.

According to a recent cross-sectional study conducted in Saudi Arabia, around 74% of healthcare professionals view teleradiology as beneficial in addressing geographic coverage gaps, after-hour needs, and providing subspecialty expertise. The study also highlighted that teleradiology could reduce turnaround times for radiology interpretations, enhancing communication between radiologists, physicians, and technologists.

Teleradiology: Bridging the Gap

While teleradiology offers a promising solution to the radiologist shortage, challenges remain. The study identified the top obstacles faced in Saudi Arabia’s teleradiology sector:

• 69%: Difficulty accessing patients’ Electronic Health Records (EHR)
• 60%: Inability to access prior imaging exams
• 52%: Performing quality assurance of exams
• 30%: Integrating off-site exams into a centralized system
• 25%: Credentialing for interpreting exams

Despite these challenges, the benefits of teleradiology are clear:

• 79%: Expanded geographic coverage
• 78%: Coverage during understaffed periods
• 70%: After-hours coverage
• 67%: Reduced turnaround times for final interpretations

Rology: Enhancing Radiology Services in Saudi Arabia

This is where Rology, a Saudi-based leader in AI-assisted teleradiology, steps in. As a fully licensed provider in Saudi Arabia, Rology offers services with Saudi-licensed and accredited consultants. With its FDA-cleared platform, Rology enhances the Kingdom’s radiology services by offering:

• Streamlined Credentialing for Interpreting Exams: Rology’s platform simplifies the credentialing process for radiologists, ensuring that only licensed, accredited, and qualified experts are authorized to interpret exams. Each radiologist is thoroughly vetted and matched based on their subspecialty expertise, ensuring they are fully credentialed and fit to provide high-quality interpretations across different regions and healthcare facilities. This streamlined process not only guarantees compliance but also accelerates the diagnostic workflow, enabling faster and more efficient service delivery.
• Seamless HIS Integration through DICOM and HL7: Rology’s platform ensures smooth integration with Hospital Information Systems (HIS) by utilizing DICOM standards for medical imaging and HL7 for secure data exchange. This allows radiologists not only to access patient records in real-time but also to review prior imaging exams efficiently. The platform’s “old studies” feature within the DICOM viewer enables radiologists to compare multiple scans for the same patient, ensuring comprehensive diagnostic reviews and continuity of care across various examinations.
• Robust Quality Assurance and Control: Rology’s platform features an FDA-cleared quality assurance and control system that ensures every report meets the highest standards. The system matches every case with a licensed, accredited sub-specialized radiologist who is authorized, tested, and specifically suited to the study. Through the peer-review module, each scan undergoes a rigorous review process as well. This multi-layered approach guarantees accurate, reliable diagnostics while maintaining exceptional quality control across all reports.
• Effortless Integration with Hospital Systems for Efficient Exam Management: Rology’s platform integrates smoothly with various imaging modalities and hospital systems, ensuring that all imaging studies are easily stored, accessed, and reviewed within the hospital’s existing infrastructure. This integration allows healthcare providers to maintain a comprehensive repository of patient imaging data, making it simple for radiologists to access both current and prior studies. This efficient workflow promotes collaboration across different locations and optimizes the management of large volumes of exams, ensuring high-quality diagnostic care.

By integrating cutting-edge technology with highly trained and licensed experts, Rology ensures that Saudi Arabia’s growing healthcare sector can meet the rising demand for radiology services, even in its most understaffed areas. Rology provides expanded geographic coverage, supports coverage 24/7, especially during understaffed periods, offers after-hours service, and significantly reduces turnaround times for final interpretations, ensuring timely and reliable radiology solutions across the Kingdom.

If your healthcare facility is interested in leveraging Rology’s cutting-edge technology to streamline workflows and improve diagnostic accuracy, we invite you to learn more and get in touch with us. Get started today to explore how we can support your needs and help you achieve excellence in radiological services.