Enterprise Medical Imaging in the Global South: Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract

The Republic of Zambia, like many other developing countries world-over, is faced with a critical shortage of trained radiologists—medical experts specialised in the interpretation and use of medical imaging for radiological diagnosis and treatment of health conditions. Coupled with the shortage of medical imaging experts is the limited use of modern medical imaging practices that facilitate efficient and effective interpretation of medical images. A potential solution for addressing these challenges is the implementation of Enterprise Imaging (EI)— techniques and workflows for acquiring, indexing, managing, storing and analysing clinical images, in order to enhance electronic health records. Implementation of a successful EI strategy has the potential to facilitate efficient and effective medical image interpretation, subsequently improving clinical care. The results from this study, through the analysis of the 2019 radiology annual returns report, indicates that General Radiography and Ultrasound were the most performed modalities. In addition, the current workflows and practices at UTH-Adult hospital Radiology department are monotonous with multiple interrelated challenges. Furthermore, there are unique EI implementation challenges, specific to Zambia, in addition to challenges highlighted in literature.