White paper report of the 2012 RAD-AID Conference on International Radiology for Developing Countries: planning the implementation of global radiology

Abstract

The RAD-AID Conference on International Radiology for Developing Countries is a yearly forum addressing global shortages of radiology that contribute to health care disparity. In this paper, the authors present key issues and consensus positions related to the planning, analyzing, implementing, and monitoring of radiology in limited-resource areas on the basis of presentations at the 2012 RAD-AID conference, to advocate for (1) economic development to build health care capacity, (2) multidisciplinary educational strategies, (3) innovative epidemiologic and infrastructural solutions tailored to community needs, (4) advanced technical solutions leveraging the widespread use of wireless telecommunications and phone-based portable devices, and (5) improved dialog across radiology and public health institutions for coordinating global health strategies.

Keywords: Radiology; developing countries; economic development; international global imaging; public health; radiologic nursing; radiology outreach; radiology readiness; residency education; sustainability; technologists.