Radiological report: Expectations of clinicians

Abstract

PURPOSE

Although there have been many publications on composing an accurate radiological report, they usually do not include an assessment of the clinicians expectations from a radiological report. In this study, we aimed to assess the clinicians' expectations and preferences in terms of radiology report style and content.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A multiple-choice questionnaire, containing 19 questions, was formed. Two-hundreds clinicians, working either in a university hospital or a public hospital, were allocated into 4 groups which included equal number of clinicians from surgery and internal medicine departments. Questionnaire was applied to participants by face-to-face interview. Results were analyzed for each group using Pearson chi-square test.

RESULTS

No statistically significant difference was found among four groups except for the 16(th) question which was about the image format pertaining to the report (CD/DVD or negative film). It has been determined that clinicians preferred detailed, standardized radiological reports with complete sections (i.e., clinical information, technique, findings, conclusion, recommendations).

CONCLUSION

This study provided essential data for radiologists to write more effective reports.