Teleradiology: state of the art in clinical environment

Teleradiology may even be a tautology since communication is an essential part of radiology. The value of a radiological report is strictly dependent on how fast and clearly it is transmitted to the referring physician. The radiologist has therefore learnt to combine imaging expertise with communicator's skills. However, the term teleradiology is usually reserved to define the instances in which computers and digital networks help to reduce the limitations imposed by the physical distance between radiologists and between radiologist and referring physician. In this paper the main clinical applications of teleradiology will be presented, distinguishing between intra-institutional teleradiology (that involves more units belonging to the same department or to the same hospital) and inter-institutional teleradiology (more classically aimed at primary interpretation and subspecialty consultation). Finally a brief mention will be made concerning the potential for Internet to provide radiologists with new professional and educational opportunities.