For years now, clinicians at a tertiary cancer center in the Northeast U.S. have cared for patients with assistance from teams of radiologists with various specialties. Are these radiologists having a positive impact on patient care? Is it easy for the clinicians to utilize these services?
Researchers surveyed physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and registered nurses to find out. seek answers to those questions, focusing specifically on the cancer center’s breast imaging consultation services. They then shared their findings in a new study published in Current Problems in Diagnostic Radiology.
“Medical, surgical and radiation oncologists and physician extenders are the direct customers of the radiology consultation service,” wrote Pamela J. DiPiro, MD, of the department of imaging at Boston’s Dana-Farber Cancer, and colleagues. “Quantifying their perception will help in improving the close interaction and exchange of knowledge between oncologists and radiologists, in turn, fostering a more collegial interaction facilitating research opportunities as well as optimized patient care.”
The survey included multiple statements about utilizing the imaging consultation service and its overall effectiveness. Statements were then scored on a five-point Likert-type scale, with a score of 1 representing “agree completely” and a score of 5 representing “disagree completely.” The authors received survey responses from 56 clinicians from their cancer center.
Overall, no one “disagreed” with a single question. Nearly 95 percent of respondents agreed completely with the statement about the consultation service having a positive impact on patient care. More than 91 percent agreed with the statement about the service playing a role in patient management by providing guidance for interventional procedures. In addition, 89 percent agreed completely with the statement about the service being accessible and allowing for “more prompt decisions.”
DiPiro and colleagues did note, however that nearly 22 percent of respondents gave a “neutral” score to the survey’s statement about the consultation service playing a role in determining clinical management.
“This can be explained by the fact that in addition to radiological imaging, several factors including patient preferences determine specific treatment decisions,” the authors wrote. “A similar argument explains the relatively low agreement with respect to role of radiology consultation in determining trial participation of patients.”
These responses show that clinicians appreciate the help they receive from their cancer center’s breast imaging consultation service.
“In this survey, we found that the presence of a dedicated radiology consultation service is perceived positively by the breast oncology team at our tertiary cancer center,” the authors concluded. “Replication of such service can be considered at other institutions.”
Michael has more than 16 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.