AstraRad's service level agreement is simple to state and rare to find published: STAT studies signed in under 1 hour, Urgent in under 4 hours, Routine in under 24 hours, with 99.4% of studies delivered within tier over the trailing 12 months. Median STAT turnaround is 28 minutes, measured from image receipt to signed final report, not to a preliminary read. This page publishes the full methodology behind those numbers, the QA program that stands behind them, and what happens when we miss, so you can hold us, or any teleradiology vendor, to the same standard.
The SLA: tiers, the 99.4% commitment, and remedies
Every study entering the AstraRad worklist is assigned one of three priority tiers at submission. The tier sets the clock, and the priority multiplier for each tier is printed on the rate card, so escalating a study never involves a negotiation.
| Tier | Commitment | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| STAT | Signed final report in under 1 hour | Suspected stroke, trauma CT, pulmonary embolism, acute abdomen |
| Urgent | Signed final report in under 4 hours | Inpatient workups, same-day clinical decisions |
| Routine | Signed final report in under 24 hours | Outpatient imaging, screening follow-up, backlog work |
Across all three tiers, 99.4% of studies over the trailing 12 months were signed within their committed window. That figure is a single blended number covering roughly 600,000 reads per year. It is not a STAT-only figure, and it is not a best-month figure.
When we miss, the miss is documented, not buried. Each monthly quality report lists every out-of-tier study with its identifier, tier, actual turnaround, and root cause. Misses stay in the compliance denominator permanently. If a pattern emerges, a documented corrective action follows, and your named operations contact walks you through it. For the clinical side of fast-turnaround work, see STAT reads under 30 minutes and STAT CT reads.
How is turnaround time measured?
Turnaround definitions are where teleradiology marketing gets slippery, so here is ours, precisely.
The clock starts when the last image of the study lands on AstraRad systems, by DICOM push from your PACS or by portal upload. The clock stops when the interpreting radiologist signs the final report. Everything in between counts against us: technical QC, triage, subspecialty assignment, the read itself, and dictation.
Three details matter when you compare vendors:
- Receipt to signed final, not receipt to preliminary. A preliminary read is not a signed report. If a vendor quotes a turnaround number, ask which endpoint it uses. The difference is explained in STAT vs preliminary vs final reads.
- Median for the headline, distribution for the audit. Our 28-minute STAT figure is a median, which resists distortion by a handful of very fast or very slow cases. Monthly reports show turnaround by tier so you can see the tail, not just the center.
- No clock exclusions. Coverage runs 24/7/365 across 12 time zones, so the measurement never pauses for nights, weekends, or holidays. A STAT study at 3 a.m. on a Sunday carries the same commitment as one at noon on a Tuesday.
Compliance is audited monthly against system timestamps, not manual logs. Submission, QC, assignment, signature, and delivery are each written to an immutable event log with actor and timestamp, which is also what our compliance program documentation covers in depth.
The QA program: double reads, blinded peer review, discrepancy tracking
Speed without accuracy is a liability, so the SLA sits on top of a standing quality assurance program modeled on ACR peer review standards.
Independent double reads. One in twenty signed reports is selected for a second, independent read by another subspecialist. The second reader is blind to the first interpretation: no access to the original report, only the images and clinical history. Agreement and disagreement are scored case by case.
Discrepancy classification. Disagreements are classified by clinical significance. Major discrepancies, those that could change patient management, run under 0.3% of signed reports over the trailing 12 months.
Closure, not just counting. Every major discrepancy goes to a monthly discrepancy meeting, is reviewed with the original reader, and is closed with a documented outcome. Clients see the discrepancy log in their monthly quality report, alongside turnaround by tier and SLA compliance.
Subspecialty routing as a quality control. Each study is read by a radiologist credentialed for that modality and body part: neuro, MSK, body, cardiac, breast, pediatric, chest, ER, oncologic, and nuclear imaging. Routing a coronary CTA to a cardiac reader and a screening mammogram to a breast reader is the first line of quality, before any peer review runs.
Volume and roster: the canonical figures
These are the dated, canonical statistics for AstraRad. Every other page on this site that cites a number links back to this page, so a figure quoted anywhere is a figure defined here.
| Statistic | Value | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Annual read volume | 600,000 reads/year | July 2026 |
| Radiologist panel | 240 board-certified, fellowship-trained subspecialists | July 2026 |
| Median STAT turnaround | 28 minutes, receipt to signed final report | Trailing 12 months |
| SLA compliance, all tiers | 99.4% | Trailing 12 months |
| Double-read sampling rate | 1 in 20 signed reports | Ongoing |
| Major discrepancy rate | Under 0.3% of signed reports | Trailing 12 months |
| Spare capacity | 25,000 additional studies/month | July 2026 |
| Backlog clearance | 8,000-study backlog in under 30 days | Standard project pace |
| Coverage | 24/7/365 across 12 time zones | Ongoing |
Compliance figures refresh monthly on a trailing 12-month window. Volume and roster figures are updated when they change materially, with the as-of date revised.
How to hold any teleradiology vendor to these standards
You do not need to take our numbers, or anyone's, on faith. Put these questions in your RFP and require written answers:
- Define the clock. From what event to what event is turnaround measured? Receipt to signed final report is the honest standard.
- Ask for the compliance percentage in the contract. A tier table without a compliance commitment is a goal, not an SLA. Ask for the trailing 12-month figure and how it is audited.
- Ask for the miss policy. Where do out-of-tier studies appear, who reviews them, and are they ever excluded from the denominator?
- Ask for the peer review design. What fraction of reports is double-read, is the second reader blinded, and what is the major discrepancy rate?
- Ask who actually reads your studies. Board certification, fellowship training, subspecialty match to modality and body part, and licensure in the state where your patients are located.
- Ask how quality is reported to you. A monthly quality report with turnaround by tier, SLA compliance, and the discrepancy log should be standard, not an add-on.
A longer version of this checklist, with scoring guidance, is in our guide on how to choose a teleradiology company.
Getting started
Pricing is per report with no minimums, no subscriptions, and no platform fees, and the priority multiplier for each tier is printed on the rate card. See pricing for the model, or request a rate card and you will have it within one business day. Send one study a month or ten thousand: the SLA, the QA program, and the monthly quality report are the same either way.