The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Diana Atwine, has announced the introduction of the National Teleradiology Center, meant to improve the services at the hospitals.

This centralized hub is designed to facilitate the interpretation of CT scan images from 14 regional referral hospitals across the country, which include Aura, Fort Portal, Gulu, Hoima, Jinja, and Mbale, among others.

In her tweet, Dr. Diana Atwine highlighted the transformative impact of this innovation, stating, “With enhanced access to specialized care, reduced turn-around times, enhanced diagnostic accuracy, and cost-effective services, this innovation is transforming health care delivery’’.

“This initiative underscores the Ministry’s commitment to leveraging technology and expertise to improve healthcare delivery in Uganda,” she added.

Atwiine announced this on her social media, commonly known as X, on September 6, 2024.

According to Dr. Diana, this setup ensures that even remote areas can benefit from specialized radiology expertise and to assist with the transmission of digital radiology images via CT scan machines.

She also stated that this is crucial for complex cases that require precise image analysis, which can now be done remotely.

Dr. Diana added that this expedited process is vital for timely patient care and treatment planning and offers cost-effective services by eliminating the need for patients to travel long distances to access specialized radiology services.

Emmanuel Ainebyoona, the Ministry of Health Public Relations Officer, revealed that there have been some delays as a result of some referral hospitals lacking radiologists and specialists to operate the installed machines.

“As soon as we get the qualified persons to operate the scans, all they will require is to be delivered to specialist doctors who will provide expert analysis, interpretation, and recommendation,” Ainebyoona said.

Teleradiology is the transmission and display of radiological images, such as CT scans and X-rays, in a location independent of the location the patient is imaged.