In a new survey of radiologists across the US, an overwhelming majority report that teleradiology services have helped them improve patient care and the lives of the physicians who provide it.

Specifically, 84 per cent of survey respondents 'strongly agree' or 'agree' that engaging NightHawk Radiology services have helped their organizations deliver excellent patient care, and 94 per cent 'strongly agree' or 'agree' that "using NightHawk helps improve work-life balance for radiologists in my organization." NightHawk provides teleradiology services, business services, and clinical workflow technology to radiology groups across the US.

According to radiologist respondents, the reputation of the service provider and the quality of service are the most important criteria in selecting a teleradiology provider. Study results also reveal that four factors drive overall satisfaction with teleradiology providers: report accuracy/content, clinical interactions with the teleradiology staff, technical support, and turnaround time. Of these items, report accuracy/content is the most important determinant of customer satisfaction, with 51 per cent of respondents rating it as their top item.

The survey also found a high level of comfort with images being read by US board-certified physicians located in a foreign country (89 per cent reported no concern). Given increasing demands for imaging by the medical community and the shortage of radiologists practicing today, use of overseas resources is increasingly common in today's global economy. NightHawk's teleradiology services are provided by US board-certified, state-licensed, and hospital-privileged physicians living in Sydney, Australia; Zurich, Switzerland; and several reading centers across the US.

"Satisfaction with teleradiology services is driven by two fundamentals -- providing excellent care to the patient and enhancing the doctor's practice and quality of life. Both are essential to improving our services and those of others in our industry," said Paul Berger, M.D., founder and chief executive officer of NightHawk Radiology. "The survey results reveal which aspects of teleradiology services are most important to radiologists, enabling us to focus on meeting and exceeding our customers' expectations where it matters most."

Overall satisfaction with NightHawk's teleradiology services is quite good. NightHawk pioneered the use of teleradiology services and the clinical workflow technology that drives success in this business. Seventy-six per cent of respondents indicated they are 'delighted' or 'pleased' with the services, a finding that is comparable with other professional service industry scores, according to the firm that conducted the study on NightHawk's behalf.

Eighty-nine per cent of radiologist respondents 'strongly agree' or 'agree' that NightHawk 'provides excellent customer service.' More than two-thirds (68 per cent) of respondents indicated that NightHawk's services are better than alternative providers. And, the vast majority of radiologist customers (84 per cent) felt the quality of NightHawk's services has improved or remained constant during the tenure of their service contracts.

The results of this customer satisfaction study provide a quality benchmark for NightHawk, other teleradiology providers, and other healthcare technology service companies. The survey was conducted over the Internet by an independent marketing research company on behalf of NightHawk during the second quarter of 2007.