Medical Forum turns 21

Five experienced radiologists – Drs Lawrence Dembo, Eamon Koh, Bernard Koong, Ronny Low and Brendan Adler – have created a specialist radiology service that allows them to be active participants in their patients’ care.

Dr Adler said the drive for the group, based in Wembley, was to not only offer patients and referrers state-of-the art equipment, but also to present them with an expert team of radiologists in a number of specialist fields. They were not content to be faceless readers of imaging scans.

“We felt strongly that we wanted a different model to the commoditised medical model that is prevalent now. We wanted to practise medicine the way we were trained to – which is listening to, talking with and caring for people. If you put the patient’s care as the priority of your business, the business takes care of itself,” he said.

“This may account for why so many specialists refer to us because we can offer our own specialist knowledge in a collaborative way to help guide the treatment pathways of their patients,” he said.

“We set out to create a high-quality, niche radiology practice that would be analternative to a high-volume, less personal service and I’m very happy with what we have achieved in those 13 years.

“We love being able to have patient contact and all our staff thrive on thecomplex cases that come through the door.”

As a result of the challenge to meet the needs of this complex patient cohort, Envision has strivedto be a pacesetter with its state-of-the art imaging equipment deliveringthe lowest radiation possible and its commitment to emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI).The rise of digital radiology over the past two decades has been little short of revolutionary. According to Dr Adler itincreased the productivity of radiologists threefold – which is fortunate becausethe capacity of radiology to detect serious disease has increased exponentially. There is more work to do.

“Geek would probably summarise most radiologists fairly accurately, buttechnology fascinates me in so far as it can help people. Radiology since its inception nearly 100 years ago has been based on technological discoveries. AI is just the next on a very long list.

“It’s been an incredible accelerating pathway of technologies in our business and because radiology worldwide has accumulated such extensive databasesover the years, it is logical that AI is establishing itself first in the specialty.

“We are involved in multiple joint research projects using AI and machine learning in the areas of prostate cancer, lung nodules, coronary angiography and brain studies – AI will be a fantastic tool in the future.”

Envision also has made a stand on the future of the planet in an emphatic way.

“We, as a business, are addressing the mountain of waste that plagues modern medicine. An enormous economy has sprung up around medical disposables and it is terrible for the planet,” he said.

“And since its inception, Envision has offset its carbon emissions – an enormous commitment given our power-hungry imaging equipment. We wanted to make aserious attempt to offset our CO2 because it is the right thing to do for our patients,our families and our community.”

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