ArticlePloS one2015
Geographic Distribution of Radiologists and Utilization of Teleradiology in Japan: A Longitudinal Analysis Based on National Census Data.
Article in PloS one, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed.
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- Analysis and Forecast of Indicators Related to Medical Workers and Medical Technology in Selected Countries of Eastern Europe and Balkan.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Utilization of CT and MRI scanning in Taiwan, 2000-2017.Insights into imaging · 2023Article
- Structured Reporting of Head and Neck Sonography Achieves Substantial Interrater Reliability.Ultrasound international open · 2023Article
- Impact of the increase in the number of community pharmacists on their geographical distribution in Japan: a retrospective survey.Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice · 2022Article
- Inequity in the Access to eHealth and Its Decomposition Case of Poland.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Explaining the adoption and use of computed tomography and magnetic resonance image technologies in public hospitals.BMC health services research · 2021Article
- The use of information and communication technology in Japanese rural clinics.Journal of rural medicine : JRM · 2021Article
- Impact of clinical information on CT diagnosis by radiologist and subsequent clinical management by physician in acute abdominal pain.European radiology · 2021Article
- Geographic distribution and utilisation of CT and MRI services at public hospitals in Myanmar.BMC health services research · 2020Article
- The role of structured reporting and structured operation planning in functional endoscopic sinus surgery.PloS one · 2020Article
- The use of structured reporting of head and neck ultrasound ensures time-efficiency and report quality during residency.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2020Article
- Impact of structured reporting on developing head and neck ultrasound skills.BMC medical education · 2019Article
- Global and Japanese regional variations in radiologist potential workload for computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging examinations.Japanese journal of radiology · 2018Article
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4 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundJapan has the most CT and MRI scanners per unit population in the world, and as these technologies spread, their geographic distribution is becoming equalized. In contrast, the number of radiologists per unit population in Japan is the lowest among OECD countries and their geographic distribution is unknown. Likewise, little is known about the use of teleradiology, which can compensate for the uneven distribution of radiologists.
methodsBased on the Survey of Physicians, Dentists and Pharmacists and the Static Survey of Medical Institutions by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, a dataset of radiologists and CT and MRI utilizations in each of Japan's 1811 municipalities was created. The inter-municipality equity of the number of radiologists was evaluated using Gini coefficient. Logistic regression analysis, based on Static Survey data, was performed to evaluate the association between hospital location and teleradiology use.
resultsBetween 2006 and 2012 the number of radiologists increased by 21.7%, but the Gini coefficient remained unchanged. The number of radiologists per 1,000 CT (MRI) utilizations decreased by 17.9% (1.0%); the number was highest in metropolis and lowest in town/village and the disparity has widened from 1.9 to 2.2 (1.6 to 2.0) times. The number of hospitals and clinics using teleradiology has increased (by 69.6% and 18.1%, respectively). Hospitals located in towns/villages (odds ratio 1.61; 95% confidence interval 1.26-2.07) were more likely to use teleradiology than those in metropolises.
conclusionsContrary to the CT and MRI distributions, radiologist distribution has not been evened out by the increase in their number; in other words, the distribution of radiologists was not affected by market-derived spatial competition force. As a consequence, the gap of the radiologist shortage between urban and rural areas is increasing. Teleradiology, which is one way to ameliorate this gap, should be encouraged.
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