Radiology

The Emergency Radiology Division was established at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in 1999 as the coordination of radiology services in the emergency department (ED) evolved to better align with the clinical services of Emergency Medicine and Trauma Surgery. Nationally, the specialty of Emergency Radiology has emerged from four major trends in emergent care: 1) increased ED utilization by patients and their physicians; 2) technological and medical advancements in the field of radiology leading to greater reliance on advanced imaging for acute medical decision-making; 3) the maturation of Emergency Medicine and Trauma Surgery as medical and surgical specialties in need of coordinated subspecialty radiology services; and 4) the expectation of contemporaneous interpretation of all emergent imaging by attending radiologists 24-hours a day.

The Emergency Radiology clinical practice is physically located within the Emergency Department at BWH. It is staffed at any given time by one or more in-house attending emergency radiologists. There are 13 full-time radiologists who staff the Division. In addition to BWH coverage, the Division provides 24/7 emergency radiology attending coverage to several regional community hospitals and radiology practices through its NightWatch teleradiology program. There are two 1-year emergency radiology fellowships each year.