As radiology is being outsourced, I wonder how hard it is to sue them
“When patients needed urgent CT scans, MRIs and ultrasounds late at night at St. Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury, Conn., emergency room workers used to rouse a bleary-eyed staff radiologist from his bed to read the images. Not anymore.

The work now goes to Arjun Kalyanpur — 8,000 miles away in Bangalore, India. When it is the middle of the night in Connecticut, Kalyanpur is in the middle of his day, handling calls from St. Mary’s and dozens of other American hospitals that transmit pictures to him electronically so he can quickly assess them and advise their doctors.”

Previously mentioned here, outsourcing radiology is a growing trend. The issue of accountability has been raised:

Some also worry about what will happen when mistakes occur. Will a radiologist on another continent be as easily held liable? Could a physician in Bangalore or Beirut be compelled to come to the United States for court proceedings?

“If your radiologist is in Australia or India, I’m not so sure how easy it would be to hold them accountable,” said Dennis F. O’Brien of the Maryland Trial Lawyers Association.

Companies offering the services say they have the same malpractice insurance as any U.S.-based radiologist, and such cases would be handled no differently.

“It would be very much in their interest to return to the United States to participate in any proceedings,” said Sean Casey, chief executive of Virtual Radiologic Consultants of Eden Prairie, Minn. “This is where their livelihood is. They’re not going to risk losing their licenses.”