Radiologists have raised concerns about doctors reviewing scans for Irish patients from abroad, stating that their lack of registration with the Irish regulator can result in “increased patient risk”.
Last month, The Irish Times revealed that a radiologist reported on diagnostic imaging for Health Service Executive (HSE) patients through a company, despite having his licence revoked in two countries after he was found to have misread imaging.
Dr Sattar Kadhem had his medical licence revoked by the Swedish medical regulator in June 2023, followed by the Norwegian regulator soon afterwards.
However, Kadhem, who is registered with the General Medical Council (GMC) in the UK, continued to read scans through a teleradiology company called Hexamark in the UK until late last year.
He reported on Irish patient scans via Hexamark for diagnostic company Affidea Ireland until September 2024.
He was not required to be registered with the Irish Medical Council (IMC), the regulatory body, due to the fact that he was not located in the State.
In a statement, the faculty of radiologists and radiation oncologists at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) said it was “concerned” about teleradiology companies employing radiologists who are not registered with the Irish regulator.
“It remains the position of the faculty that all radiology reports and procedures in Ireland should be performed by radiologists on the Irish Medical Council register, ideally the specialist division of the register,” the statement said.
“It is our opinion that there is increased patient risk and potentially poorer outcomes due to poorer communication with referrers, lack of clarity for follow-up discussions about cases, potential lack of ability to access previous imaging for comparison and potential lack of traceability.”
The radiologists added that they have concerns that a patient who may want to make a complaint against a radiologist “may struggle to find a clear pathway for this compared with the process for an IMC-registered radiologist”.
“It is our belief that patients scanned in Ireland believe and expect that their imaging will be reported by radiologists in Ireland or at least registered to practice in this country.”
An IMC spokeswoman confirmed that medical professionals working outside the State through telemedicine companies do not require registration with the Irish regulator.
“If, therefore, healthcare is conducted in another state but is provided to a patient in Ireland by means of telemedicine, the Medical Council has no jurisdiction,” she said.
“If a complaint were to be made, it would have to be made to the competent authority in which the practitioner is established.”
Affidea Ireland said that during periods of “high demand or reduced local consultant availability” it engages third-party teleradiology providers, as was the case with Kadhem.
A spokeswoman added that it commissioned a “comprehensive independent review” of Kadhem’s work in 2024 as a “precautionary patient safety measure” and no patient safety concerns were identified.
Last year, Kadhem was dismissed from his job at Hexamark and referred to the GMC after a report from the London-based Times, as part of an investigation with The Irish Times and other media organisations, revealed he had been struck off abroad.
Kadhem declined to answer questions from The Irish Times about reviewing Irish patient scans, stating the matters “remain subject to an ongoing GMC process”, adding that he will “continue to comply with all requirements and conditions” issued by the UK regulator.