Radiologists welcome direct interactions with patients

A majority of radiologists welcome more direct contact with patients and rarely consider patient interaction detrimental to workflow, according to a new study published by the Journal of the American College of Radiology.

Researchers issued a voluntary questionnaire at their institution to gauge radiologists’ experiences with direct patient interaction.

“Although the patient benefits of radiologist-patient interactions have been well studied, there must also be consideration of radiologists’ preferences and radiology workflow,” wrote lead author Olga R. Brook, MD, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, and colleagues. “A previous study showed that the number of patients who ask radiologists for their results is significantly higher for MRI and ultrasound than for CT. Consideration must be given to the time costs of these patient interactions, particularly when reporting and explanation of findings is involved.”

Of the surveys completed, 54 percent represented staff radiologists and 46 percent were trainees. More than 78 percent of respondents found patient interaction to be a satisfying experience, and 54 percent of radiologists desired more opportunities for patient interaction. There was no significant difference in the proportion of staff and trainee radiologists who desired more patient interaction. Staff radiologists specializing in vascular and interventional radiology and mammography were significantly more likely to desire additional patient interaction in comparison to other specialists.

Only 4 percent of radiologists found patient interactions to be detrimental to normal workflow and almost 15 percent of radiologists declined patient communication because of time constraints, their belief that the interaction was unnecessary or their preference that the patient contact the referring physician instead. Nineteen percent of radiologists reported having to spend more than 15 minutes per patient interaction.

“We found that most radiologists at our institution would welcome more direct interactions with their patients and that the vast majority of these radiologists do not subjectively perceive these interactions to be detrimental to their normal workflow,” the authors wrote. “Therefore, we suggest that models incorporating interactions of radiologists with patients should be further developed.”