| When Does a Radiologist's Recommendation for Follow-up Result in High-Cost Imaging? | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 22084210 Owner: NLM Status: Publisher |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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Purpose:To measure the proportion of high-cost imaging generated by a radiologist's recommendation and to identify the imaging findings resulting in follow-up.Materials and Methods:This retrospective HIPAA-compliant study had institutional review board approval, with waiver of informed consent. A recommended examination was defined as one performed within a single episode of care (defined as fewer than 60 days after the initial imaging) following a radiologist's recommendation in a prior examination report. Chest and abdominal computed tomography (CT), brain and lumbar spine magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, and body positron emission tomography were included for analysis. From a database of all radiology examinations (approximately 200 000) at one institution over a 6-month period, a computerized search identified all high-cost examinations that were preceded by an examination containing a radiologist recommendation. Medical records were reviewed to verify accuracy of the recommending-recommended examination pairs and to determine the reason for the radiologist's recommendation. For proportions, 95% confidence intervals were calculated.Results:Overall, 1558 of 29 232 (5.3%) high-cost examinations followed a radiologist's recommendation. Chest CT was the high-cost examination most often resulting from a radiologist's recommendation (878 of 9331, 9.4%), followed by abdominal CT (390 of 10 258, 3.8%) and brain MR imaging (222 of 6436, 3.4%). The examination types with the highest numbers of follow-up examinations were chest radiography (n = 431), chest CT (n = 410), abdominal CT (n = 214), and abdominal ultrasonography (n = 120). The most common findings resulting in follow-up were pulmonary nodules or masses (559 of 1558, 35.9%), other pulmonary abnormalities (150 of 1558, 9.6%), adenopathy (103 of 1558, 6.6%), renal lesions (101 of 1558, 6.5%), and negative examination findings (101 of 1558, 6.5%).Conclusion:Radiologists' recommendations account for only a small proportion of outpatient high-cost imaging examinations. Pulmonary nodule follow-up is the most common cause for radiologist-generated examinations.© RSNA, 2011. |
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Authors:
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Susanna I Lee; Arun Krishnaraj; Manjil Chatterji; Keith J Dreyer; James H Thrall; Peter F Hahn |
Publication Detail:
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Type: JOURNAL ARTICLE Date: 2011-11-14 |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Radiology Volume: - ISSN: 1527-1315 ISO Abbreviation: - Publication Date: 2011 Nov |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2011-11-15 Completed Date: - Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 0401260 Medline TA: Radiology Country: - |
Other Details:
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Languages: ENG Pagination: - Citation Subset: - |
Affiliation:
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Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 55 Fruit St, White 270, Boston, MA 02114. |
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From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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