medical practice to provide ultrasound- guided needle biopsy, gastrostomy tube management, paracentesis and thoracentesis, ultrasound-guided joint injections for pain, wound care, drug infusions, and more.


By administering to elderly and chronically ill patients at their rural homes, Dr. Golewale and his partnering practice were able to treat more than 1,000 patients, reduce emergency department usage by 77% and reduce hospital readmissions by 50% over a 12-month period.6


“Our older, homebound patients have so few resources available for specialty care that they often delay seeking treatment until preventable issues become urgent and acute,” Dr. Golewale said.7


“They


often were waiting months to see a specialist. By providing image-guided treatments in a patient’s home, we are improving access dramatically and avoiding countless hospitalizations.”


Telehealth Since COVID-19 forced new practice models into reality, telehealth has increasingly taken off .


Telehealth has some downsides—in addition to licensing and state-specifi c telehealth laws, utilizing it requires access to internet and technology, and some patients may not feel comfortable sharing health details outside of a physician’s offi ce.8


But telehealth can


also allow physicians to see patients who otherwise would not be able to regularly travel to their practice.


According to Arun Jagannathan, MD, telehealth can minimize much of the administrative and pre-procedural labor that patients face. By doing initial consults, second opinions and follow-up visits virtually, it limits patients’ transportation time and negates the associated costs of that travel.9


2023 Join us for the next 50 50


Interventional radiology has always been about innovation and moving forward. Join us at SIR 2025 in Nashville and check out p. 36 to see what’s in store.


irq.sirweb.org | 35


fl exibility while providing much-needed IR care to the most vulnerable patients.


References


1. Yusef A, et al. Geospatial and Socioeconomic Disparities in Access to IR Care in the United States. JVIR. 2023 Oct 28:S1051-0443(23)00789-3.


2. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Health and Medicine Division; Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice; Roundtable on the Promotion of Health Equity; Roundtable on Population Health Improvement. Achieving Rural Health Equity and Well-Being: Proceedings of a Workshop. National Academies Press; 2018


3. Findeiss L. Crossing the IR desert; The need for IRs in rural communities. IRQ. 2021. irq.sirweb.org/ clinical-practice/crossing-the-ir-desert


It can also increase fl exibility for small practices. “Many small or rural IR practices may have a limited number of physicians and minimal, if any, nurse practitioner or physician assistant support,” Dr. Jagannathan said. “Telehealth off ers fl exibility to these practices by providing a window of availability. This can allow for coordination of telehealth services without signifi cant interruptions to the procedural workfl ow and also limits the amount of blocked time required to conduct an in-person clinic.”


Conclusion As the IR workforce shortage grows, small and rural areas will increasingly be left behind, and continued outreach and education is critical. For IRs seeking patient-centered, longitudinal care-based practices, or who are open to pursuing nontraditional work models, these small communities may be a perfect fi t. Patients are grateful for quality and essential IR care that is geographically accessible, particularly for those with chronic and oncologic diseases. IR work in underserved areas has signifi cant opportunities for professional growth and


2024


4. Friedberg EB et al. Access to Interventional Radiology Services in Small Hospitals and Rural Communities: An ACR Membership Intercommission Survey. J Am Coll Radiol. 2019 Feb;16(2):185-193. doi: 10.1016/j.jacr.2018.10.002. Epub 2018 Dec 11. PMID: 30545710.


5. Mehandru S. Short term work, long term possibilities: The pros and cons of locum tenens work. IRQ. 2023.irq.sirweb.org/perspectives/ short-term-work-long-term-possibilities


6. Golewale, N. et al. A novel health care delivery model–house call docs. JVIR. 2020:31(3), S55.


7. Perl P. Interventional radiology comes home: Adding IR to novel physician house call model yields remarkable results. IRQ. 2020. irq.sirweb.org/clinical-practice/ interventional-radiology-comes-home


8. Racine H. A workforce in crisis: How Hawaii’s physician shortage is deepening health disparities. IRQ. 2023. irq.sirweb.org/ perspectives/a-workforce-in-crisis


9. Jagannathan A. Dialing in; Utilizing telehealth to expand the reach of small and rural IR practices. IRQ. 2023. irq.sirweb.org/ clinical-practice/dialing-in


2025


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40