Masters Degrees (Clinical Imaging Sciences)

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Browsing Masters Degrees (Clinical Imaging Sciences) by Author "Janse van Rensburg, Jacques"

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    Cost awareness of radiological studies amongst doctors at Universitas Academic Hospital, Bloemfontein
    (University of the Free State, 2020-07) Mrwetyana, Khanyisa Nothemba; Janse van Rensburg, Jacques; Joubert, Gina
    Background: South Africa has high healthcare expenses, implementing cost-consciousness would translate to a reduction in costs which will reduce government spending on healthcare. Objectives: To determine cost awareness of radiological studies amongst doctors. To assess whether there are differences in cost estimation accuracy according to the level of training and speciality amongst doctors working at Universitas Hospital. To determine whether the participants have undergone any prior education or training related to cost awareness of radiological studies and if there is a desire to learn about the cost of radiological imaging. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional survey by means of an anonymous questionnaire. The study was conducted in six clinical departments at Universitas Academic Hospital. The questionnaire was aimed at determining cost awareness of five radiological studies amongst doctors. Doctors were given six different cost ranges to choose from for each imaging study with only one correct option. The costs were based on South Africans National Department of Health’s 2019 Uniform Patients Fee Schedule (UPFS). Questionnaires were distributed in person by principal investigator. Results: 195 questionnaires were distributed and 131 (67.2%) returned. There was an overall low cost estimation accuracy, with 45.2% of the participants getting none of the costs correctly. None of the participants estimated all five costs correctly. There was no significant difference in cost estimation accuracy according to the level of training or speciality. The majority of participants (88.6%) would like to learn about the cost of imaging. Only 2.3% of the participants have received prior education or training related to cost awareness of radiological studies. Conclusion: Doctors were consistently inaccurate in estimating the cost of the radiological studies. As doctors are largely responsible for health care expenditure, the result of this research suggest that educating doctors about the cost of radiological imaging can have a positive effect on healthcare expenditure.
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    Diagnostic accuracy and reliability of smartphone captured radiologic images communicated via WhatsApp®
    (University of the Free State, 2021-02) Ntja, Unathi; Janse van Rensburg, Jacques; Joubert, Gina
    Background: Sending radiographic images as instant messages have become a common means of communication between physicians, aiding in triaging and transfer decision-making in emergencies. While the use of technology is increasing, this is not the case for the underserved or rural areas of South Africa with no picture archiving and communications system (PACS) or advanced hardware in place. In these areas, however, the medical population tends to have nearly universal access to smartphones and would benefit from the ability to share images quickly and easily with trained radiologists. South African data on diagnostic reliability of smartphone radiology images is lacking. Objectives: The objective of the study was to determine the accuracy and reliability of diagnoses made on radiologic images with a smartphone compared to radiologic images on PACS. Method: This was a cross-sectional study. Radiographs from 1 June 2018 to 1 July 2019 were selected from the PACS system at a tertiary hospital in the east-central South Africa. The images were displayed on a PACS computer screen and captured by the researcher using a smartphone. Five radiology registrars received the images via WhatsApp® and reviewed them on their phones. After three weeks, the registrars viewed the images in random order on a PACS station. McNemar’s test was used to compare the diagnostic accuracy of smartphone and PACS. Kappa values were calculated for agreement. Reliability was assessed by analyzing the results of different registrars and diagnoses separately. Results: One hundred and thirty-five X-rays, representative of common emergency conditions, were selected. For all registrars, the PACS accuracy was generally higher than the smartphone accuracy. The Kappa values all indicated fair to moderate agreement between smartphone and PACS diagnosis. Conclusion: Capturing radiographic images using at least a 12-megapixel smartphone and sharing them via WhatsApp® is a reliable method that can be used with a high degree of confidence in emergencies to aid clinical decision making. This method of viewing medical imaging is however not a substitution for images viewed on PACS.