Toward “Best Practices” in Radiology Reporting Charles E. Kahn, Jr., MD, MS Medical College of Wisconsin Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Interpreting physician Referring physician Interpreting physician
Interpreting physician Technologist Imaging device Referring physician Interpreting physician CAD Decision support
Interpreting physician Administrator Referring physician Interpreting physician Data mining
RSNA Reporting Committee Reporting Workshop Special report Radiology Health Policy Statement Cardiovascular Imaging SR Joint statement of ACC, ACR, RSNA, others Reporting Templates Critical results reporting Clinical example
RSNA Reporting Workshop June 2008 50+ participants Radiologists Medical physicists Imaging informatics specialists Referring physicians Cardiology Oncology Surgical pathology
Report Components Administrative information Patient identification Clinical history Imaging technique Comparison Observations Summary or Impression Signature Consensus Statement
Report Components Administrative information Imaging facility Referring provider Date of service Time of service Patient identification Name Identifier (e.g., MRN or SSN) Date of birth Gender Clinical history Medical history Risk factors Allergies, if relevant Reason for exam (medical necessity)
Report Components Time of image acquisition Imaging device Imaging technique Time of image acquisition Imaging device Image acquisition parameters Device settings Patient positioning Interventions Contrast materials / meds Radiation dose
Report Components Comparison Date and type of previous exams reviewed, if applicable Observations Narrative description or itemization of findings Measurements Image annotations Key images
Report Components Key observations Recommendations Summary or Impression Key observations Recommendations Signature Electronic signature Date and time Each responsible provider Attestation statement
Critical Results Finding Level of criticality Person notified “Red” “Orange” “Yellow” Person notified Date and time of notification
Report Views “Object-oriented” reporting One report Many views Tailor presentation to reader’s needs General practitioners Specialists Radiologists Patients DOE, Jane 123-456 Report
General Physician View DOE, Jane 123-456 Report
Specialist View DOE, Jane 123-456 Report
Patient View DOE, Jane 123-456 Report
Modular Reporting Based on the needs of the user Reports elements dynamically... highlighted de-emphasized combined
Modular Reporting Body Trauma CT Chest Abdomen Template Library Thoracic Aorta Lungs Body Trauma CT Chest Abdomen Solid organs Template Library Aortic Aneurysm Body Trauma CT Body Trauma CT Renal Mass Renal Mass Extremity Fracture Pancreatitis Gallbladder Disease
Operational Considerations Patient throughput Report turn-around time Documentation of service Billing Regulatory compliance Quality assurance / improvement
Quality Metrics Quality of examination Radiologist interpretation Technical limitations Complications Radiologist interpretation Completeness of report Discrepancy from preliminary interpretation Errors in interpretation Appropriateness Match to appropriateness criteria Outcomes information
Technical Considerations Reporting templates “Template for templates” Extensible Markup Language (XML)
Information Interchange International standards DICOM Structured Reporting HL7 Clinical Document Architecture (CDA) XML Web Services
Consistent Language Universally recognized vocabularies SNOMED-CT Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine Clinical Terms RadLex RSNA’s radiology lexicon
User / Developer Partnership Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise Forum of healthcare professionals and industry to improve information sharing Coordinates use of established standards (DICOM, HL7)
Any questions? kahn@mcw.edu