Sammendrag
Background: Medical imaging plays a vital role in the accurate diagnosis, treatment and outcome prediction of
many diseases and injuries. However, in many African countries, deserving populations do not have access to the
proper medical imaging specialists’ services. As a result, clinicians continue to struggle to provide medical imaging
via consultation. However, little is known about conventional referral consultation practices and their challenges. This
study, therefore, aimed to explore the practice and challenges of medical imaging service consultation among health
professionals and patients in the context of the Ethiopian public healthcare delivery system.
Methods: Descriptive phenomenological study was employed to explore the practice of medical imaging service
consultation among health professionals and patients in public hospitals of Amhara region from October 12,
2021 to December 29, 2021. Semi-structured interview guides were prepared separately for key-informant and
in-depth interviews. A total of 21 participants (6 hospital managers, 4 medical directors, 4 department heads, 3
medical imaging coordinators and 4 patients) were selected using the maximum variation sampling technique. All
interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and subjected to inductive thematic analysis using Open Code
4.02 software.
Results: Six major themes emerged following the thematic analysis: (1) medical image service delivery practices; (2)
medical imaging consultation modalities; (3) benefits and drawbacks of the consultation modalities; (4) challenges;
(5) challenge mitigation strategies; and (6) future recommendations. Image films, compact disks, and telegram apps
were the consultation modalities used by the referring clinicians to send the medical images to radiologists. Frequent
failure of imaging machines, delayed equipment maintenance, inadequate infrastructure, shortage of budget, lack
of radiologists, and low-quality of printed image films were among the challenges influencing the medical imaging
consultation service Conclusions This research explored onsite and referral imaging consultation practices. However, there are many
challenges encountered by the referring clinicians and the radiologists during the consultation process. These
challenges could potentially affect clinicians’ ability to provide timely diagnosis and treatment services which would
ultimately affects patient health status and service delivery. Virtual consultation via teleradiology and enhancing
clinicians’ competence through long-term and short-term trainings are recommended to improve the referral
consultation practice.
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