Interpretation outside training: Discrepancy rates in 5.9 million
radiological examinations

Date:
November 4, 2021
Source:
American Roentgen Ray Society
Summary:
Imaging practice leaders should carefully consider efforts to match
interpretation of subspecialty examinations with radiologists'
fellowship training in the acute community setting, experts urge.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== According to an open-access Editor's Choice article in ARRS' American
Journal of Roentgenology (AJR), imaging practice leaders should carefully consider efforts to match interpretation of subspecialty examinations
with radiologists' fellowship training in the acute community setting.


========================================================================== Pointing out that major and minor discrepancy rates were not higher
for acute community setting examinations outside of interpreting
radiologists' fellowship training, "discrepancy rates increased for
advanced examinations," acknowledged lead investigators Suzanne Chong from Indiana University in Indianapolis and Tarek Hanna of Emory University
in Atlanta, GA.

Using the databank of a large US teleradiology company (Virtual
Radiologic), Chong, Hanna, and colleagues' analysis included 5,883,980
acute examinations performed from 2012 to 2016 that were preliminarily interpreted by 269 teleradiologists with a fellowship of neuroradiology, abdominal radiology, or musculoskeletal radiology. When providing final interpretations, client on-site radiologists voluntarily submitted quality assurance (QA) requests if preliminary and final interpretations were discrepant; the teleradiology company's own QA committee categorized discrepancies as major (n=8,444) or minor (n=17,208).

Among the preliminary teleradiology interpretations of acute community
setting examinations, common examinations' major and minor discrepancies
rates were not different when concordant versus discordant with
radiologists' fellowship training (p>.05). However, advanced examinations' discrepancy rates were higher when concordant with radiologists'
fellowship (relative risk = 1.45 and 1.17, respectively; p<.05).

Noting that their findings support multispecialty radiologist practice in
acute community settings, "efforts to match examination and interpreting radiologist subspecialty may not reduce diagnostic discrepancies,"
the authors of this AJR article added.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by American_Roentgen_Ray_Society. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Suzanne Chong, Tarek Hanna, Christine Lamoureux, Tianwen Ma,
Scott Weber,
Jamlik-Omari Johnson, Eric Friedberg, Robert S. Pyatt, Catherine J.

Everett, Timothy D. Johnson. Interpretations of Examinations
Outside of Radiologists' Fellowship Training: Assessment of
Discrepancy Rates Among 5.9 Million Examinations From a National
Teleradiology Databank. American Journal of Roentgenology, 2021;
DOI: 10.2214/AJR.21.26656 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/11/211104115309.htm

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