Restoring radiology to the 'new normal' after COVID-19

Diagnostic imaging examinations and radiology departments have been essential in the care of the millions of COVID-19 patients. As the virus abates, how should radiology departments return to “normal” operations?

The American College of Radiology (ACR) and the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) have published recommendations and guidelines.

Caution and safety should be the foundation cornerstones for re-offering non-urgent imaging procedures, experts recommend. Ramp up slowly and methodically based on the capabilities, needs, and limitations of individual hospital radiology departments and outpatient facilities. Local COVID-19 infection statistics and trends should have the greatest influence in this decision, as well as the availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) for staff and sanitizing supplies, and the availability of radiologic technologists and support staff.

For hospital radiology departments, plans to continue to provide essential imaging services for patients with known or suspected COVID-19 need to be made, and logistics assessed with respect to plans for imaging virus-free patients. The challenges associated with this are so individualized to a radiology department that they are not within the scope of this article, and are best made by a dedicated task force of administrative staff, technologists, and radiologists.

Read the whole article on healthcare-in-europe.com/restoring-radiology-to-the-new-normal