Efforts needed to improve interventional radiology awareness among specialists: Survey

Interventional radiologists must improve awareness of the specialty among physicians and other providers, according to new survey results published Thursday. 

The finding come from a poll of over 500 specialists at a single hospital, published in the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology. About 20% of respondents said they have recommended IR as an alternative to surgery 0% of the time versus 47% who do so in one-quarter of clinical scenarios. Only 10% of specialists surveyed said they offer interventional options in three-quarters or more of patient encounters.

Asked to rate their understanding of interventional radiology, 50% deemed it “adequate,” and 34% said they have a “good” grasp of the specialty. Conversely, 7% have a “poor” understanding, and 9% labeled their knowledge “excellent.” Nearly 59% of specialists are willing to learn more versus 33% who are “neutral” and 8% who said “no.” 

“This work suggests that efforts are needed to improve awareness of IR among specialist physicians and [advanced practice providers],” Mina S. Makary, MD, a vascular and interventional radiologist with the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, and co-authors wrote Feb. 27. “This knowledge deficit has a direct impact on patient care,” they added later. “Most specialists are interested in learning more about IR, and this study identifies key points where specialists’ awareness of IR may be improved.”

Makary and colleagues administered their 18-question survey via email at an academic center between April and May. Respondents worked in specialties outside of primary care including orthopedics (18%), general surgery (14%) and gastroenterology (13%), among others. When prompted to select conditions interventional radiologists can treat from a list, respondents most often said abscesses (90%), hemorrhages (86%) and hepatic ascites (81%). Infertility (36%), benign prostatic hyperplasia (41%), and bone cancer (51%) were among the least selected. 

Compared to previous research, the results suggest specialists have a greater knowledge of interventional services than primary care physicians. PCPs most often self-report “poor” or “adequate” knowledge of IR care, past surveys showed. Makary and co-authors see an opportunity to better educate specialists about IR expertise in treating enlarged prostates infertility and bone cancer. 

“It is surprising that surgical specialists did not exhibit greater familiarity with IR and its procedures, given that both surgical specialists and interventional radiologists undergo surgical training,” the authors wrote. “When comparing APPs and specialist physicians, APPs reported a poorer knowledge of IR and the conditions that interventional radiologists treat. APPs play a substantial role in directing patient care and demonstrated the greatest interest in learning more about IR, making them an important subset to target in the future.”