Streamlining systems

One way radiology is improving value is by automating and standardizing the reporting process. Two of this week’s top stories dealt with this topic, one involving the effectiveness of automated alerts and another surveying the use of standardized reports.

The first story should help calm your nerves if the words “Joint Commission” are sending shivers up your spine this Halloween. The Joint Commission has recognized critical test results communication as a national patient safety goal, and a study published in the November issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology has shown that adopting an automated alert notification system for critical imaging results can be effective.

Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston embedded an automated alert system in the workflow of radiologists and referring providers that integrated paging and email communications. In a review of more than 40,000 reports from before and after implementation of the system, the authors found that adherence to the hospital’s closed-loop communication policy rose from 91 percent to 95 percent using the automated alert system.

The other top story from this week focused on the content of reports, specifically whether radiologists were utilizing structured reporting and standardized language. Results of a survey sent to members of the Association of University Radiologists were published in Academic Radiology and showed that radiologists in North America are getting onboard with structured reporting.

A total of 51.3 percent of respondents said they use structured reporting in at least half of their reports. Another 31.3 percent said they do so with a smaller portion of reports and only 10.9 percent said they weren’t using structured reporting at all.

Survey respondents generally expressed satisfaction with structured reporting and classification systems, though they brought up an interesting concern regarding residents. Some questioned whether structured reporting might hamper the ability of residents to learn how to describe pathology and synthesize findings in a diagnostic study. Residents may need to be coached on when it is appropriate to adjust reports and alter structured default text.

While there are still wrinkles to iron out in modern reporting processes, these articles show the progress that can be made with better automation and standardization.

-Evan Godt
Editor – Health Imaging