When the Reading Room Meets the Team Room: Resident Perspectives from Radiology and Internal Medicine on the Impact of Personal Communication after Implementing a Resident-led Radiology Rounds

Publication date: Available online 13 February 2018
Source:Current Problems in Diagnostic Radiology
Author(s): Andrew J. Klobuka, John Lee, Raquel Buranosky, Matthew Heller
Current radiology and internal medicine residents have trained entirely in the post-PACS implementation era and thus have largely missed out on the benefits of in-person, two-way communication between radiologists and consulting clinicians. The purpose of this study is to broadly explore resident perspectives from these groups on the desire for personal contact between radiologists and referring physicians and the impact of improved contact on clinical practice. A Radiology Rounds was implemented in which radiology residents travel to the internal medicine teaching service teams to discuss their inpatients and review ordered imaging biweekly. Surveys were given to both cohorts following 9 months of implementation. 23/49 Diagnostic Radiology (DR) and 72/197 Internal Medicine (IM) residents responded. 83% of DR and 96% of IM residents desired more personal contact between radiologists and clinicians. 92% of DR residents agree that contact with referring clinicians changes their approach to a study. 96% of IM residents agree that personal contact with a radiologist has changed patient management in a way that they otherwise would not have done having simply read a report. 85% of DR residents report that more clinician contact will improve resource utilization and 96% report that it will improve care quality. 99% of IM residents report that increased access to a radiologist would make selecting the most appropriate imaging study easier in various clinical scenarios. A majority of IM residents prefer radiology reports that provide specific next-step recommendations and that include arrows/key-image series. We conclude that the newest generation of physicians is already attuned to the value of a radiologist who plays an active, in-person role in the clinical decision-making process.



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