Royal College of Radiology, UK signs MoU with Aster Medical Imaging

Aster Medical Imaging, a unit of Aster DM Healthcare Ltd, is the largest integrated healthcare provider in GCC and India, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Royal College of Radiologists, a professional body responsible for the specialities of clinical oncology and clinical radiology in the United Kingdom, as the strategic partner to uplift the quality and access to radiology services across the globe. The MoU was signed by Dr Katharine Halliday, President of RCR and Dr. Azad Moopen, Founder Chairman & Managing Director of Aster DM Healthcare in the presence of Ms. Alisha Moopen, Deputy Managing Director of Aster DM Healthcare, Oliver Reichardt, CEO of RCR, Dr Harsha Rajaram, COO – Aster Medical Imaging, India & GCC, Patrick Courtney, Lead Strategic Global Collaborations. The signing ceremony was held on 29th September 2022 during the RCR Global Congress 2022 in Dubai, the first-ever conference held outside the United Kingdom.

Following accreditation by Joint Commission International (JCI) for international standards, Aster Medical Imaging builds upon Aster DM Healthcare’s 35-year-old legacy and over 700 radiology professionals to investigate 1.2 million reports annually with an accuracy rate best in the industry. The consolidation of the radiology services across the Aster network in India and the Middle East and the addition of facilities across both regions has helped AMI emerge as one of the largest medical imaging services providers in the region.  

The collaboration will look at setting up licensed FRCR examination centres across India and GCC under the banner of Aster and provide the necessary infrastructure that meets the requirements and criteria of RCR. All the audits, quality control and operations management would also be in accordance with the RCR guidelines and mutual agreements on benchmarks. It will also conduct offline and online training courses to cater to the wider geographies, with tailored programmes based on the regional requirements, build skillsets, and ensure standards.

The Quality Standard for Imaging (QSI) is being enhanced to become the leading standard for global quality criteria for imaging services. The partnership will look to bring in standardisation of reporting keeping in line with RCR guidelines and partner with national authorities in creating region-specific quality guidelines and standards, keeping the RCR knowledge base. With RCR iRefer being adopted by significant medical stakeholders across the NHS and globally, including in Poland, Australia and across Africa, the partnership will look at utilising the framework to set guidelines on referrals. Lastly, the collaboration will also look at nurturing and creating a pipeline of trained and licensed manpower that can support the NHS on radiology initiatives and expansion.