Radiologists need to provide patient-centered care that reflects and respects their patients’ diverse cultural beliefs, practices, and preferences. This can be accomplished by utilizing professional interpreters or language services and offering culturally sensitive educational resources.
Radiologists often interact with clinical physicians only through diagnostic reports, which impedes direct communication. However, a gap between radiologists and referrers can lead to missed diagnoses and suboptimal outcomes for patients.
Patient-centered care
Patient-centered care is a key element in the overall effectiveness of healthcare, as well as streamlines radiology department workflows. It involves focusing on patients’ needs, goals and values, and incorporates them into clinical decisions and outcomes assessment. This model of care is a major shift from the traditional healthcare paradigm of treating patients as passive subjects to active partners in their own health. It can also improve healthcare professionals’ quality of life and patient satisfaction.
A recent issue of the Israel Journal of Health Policy Research (IJHPR) highlighted several papers on strategies associated with patient-centered care. Using these strategies, organizations can achieve high-performing clinical outcomes and create an environment that is safe for their employees, patients and families.
However, there are a number of barriers to implementing patient-centered care in practice. These include limited time during visits, staff shortages and the lack of tools for healthcare providers to gather important medical insights from their patients. One way to overcome these challenges is by using tools like Creyos’ patient questionnaires and cognitive assessments, which can help healthcare providers spend more time focusing on the patients they serve.
It is essential for radiologists to understand that patients are often hesitant to discuss sensitive information. This is due to cultural differences, language barriers and other factors. To ensure that your patients feel comfortable talking with you, take the time to build a relationship with them. You can do this by communicating with them throughout the process, not only during the appointment itself.
Involving patients in their own care can also help reduce physician burnout. It can increase the sense of professional fulfillment and lead to more efficient resource allocation. In addition, patient-centered care can also lower the rate of unneeded diagnostic tests and referrals, which can save both time and money.
Patients need to know that their medical team is listening to them. This requires compassionate communication and a willingness to work with patients to find a treatment plan that works for them. It is also crucial to have a clear and open line of communication with patients and their caregivers. This can be done through shared decision-making, the use of a patient portal, and clear and accessible information on diagnoses, treatments and procedures.
Communication breakdown between radiologists and clinicians
Although the radiologist-clinician relationship is important, it can be frustrating to radiologists when communication gaps occur. These gaps can result in failure to order appropriate tests, inaccurate follow-up plans, and even medical malpractice lawsuits.
The main causes of these communication breakdowns include miscommunication of imaging data, varying workflows, and lack of clear documentation. For example, a patient may come to the radiology department with an emergency referral and be sent home without having the results of their scans. In some cases, these patients will be referred to other specialists who will need to receive the information from the radiologist before taking further action.
Many radiology departments strive for paper-free communication by replacing their paper referral forms with electronic referrals and reports. This change has clearly facilitated technical communication of image data, but it is unclear whether it also influences other aspects of radiology work practices. Some studies have found that consultations with referring clinicians decreased when hard copy film was replaced by digital images, while other studies have shown no difference.
Another issue is the time required to communicate with referring clinicians over the phone or through email. This can be especially challenging when a patient is transferred between hospitals or private practices with different picture archiving and communications systems. In addition, the lack of standardization in referring request forms can create a communication gap between radiologists and referring physicians.
Despite these challenges, it is possible to improve interprofessional communication in the radiology department. For example, training on sensitivity and cultural awareness can help improve communication with patients. This type of training can be offered as part of the radiography curriculum or as a separate course. Moreover, it can empower radiologists to effectively interact with patients, reduce misunderstandings, and ensure the highest quality of care.
Other solutions to bridging the gap between radiologists and clinicians involve creating a team approach to patient care. Johnson suggests that radiologists should make a conscious effort to discuss difficult diagnostics with patients and to provide them with feedback about their treatment. She also recommends implementing tools such as critical test result management, selective word choice in radiology reports, and multimedia reporting. Additionally, she suggests that radiologists should use VoiceLove devices to connect patients with their families while they are waiting for exams. These devices are especially useful in pandemic situations when families do not have access to cell phones and face-to-face interactions are limited.
Communication breakdown between radiologists and patients
When radiologists communicate their findings to referring clinicians, it is important that they use clear language and focus on providing actionable recommendations. This will help clinicians understand the implications of the report and avoid confusion or misinterpretation. In addition, radiologists should not rely on indirect communication methods such as facsimile or secretarial staff to relay results to clinicians, which can lead to errors in interpretation and a delay in patient care.
During the FGIs, participants identified several barriers to effective communication between radiologists and referring physicians including the physical separation of the two groups, hectic work schedules, and navigating large practice group networks with different picture archiving and communication systems (PACS). In some cases, a radiology call is not returned due to scheduling issues or other factors. This can create frustration for both parties and negatively affect the quality of the patient experience.
This breakdown in communication is a major cause of malpractice claims against radiologists, and has become a focal point of efforts to improve and regulate the medical industry. According to a recent study by the Physician Insurers Association of America, claims for communication failures are twice as high as those related to diagnostic errors and procedural complications.
The key to overcoming these communication challenges is to encourage direct communication between radiographers and patients. This can be done by introducing themselves, explaining their roles and responsibilities, and encouraging written consent for the examination or procedure. This may reduce anxiety levels, resulting in improved outcomes for the patient.
Another way to bridge the gap between radiographers and patients is by using audio recordings of simple instructions such as “remove your shirt” or “breathe in and hold your breath” to facilitate better understanding. This can be done in multiple languages and played back to patients when needed. A study showed that implementing pre-recorded audio instructions resulted in a significant decrease in the number of CXRs rejected for non-compliance and improved department efficiency.
In addition to improving the quality of patient care, effective communication between radiographers and patients can also reduce the amount of radiation exposure for patients. This is because fewer repeat exams will be required when there is effective communication between the two parties.
Communication breakdown between radiologists and staff
One of the biggest causes of diagnostic errors in healthcare is poor communication between clinicians and radiologists. These errors result in delayed or missed treatments that ultimately lead to adverse patient outcomes. This breakdown of communication is due to various factors, including time constraints, the complexity of medical imaging, and insufficient training. This is why it’s important to ensure that all parties are fully informed of critical test results.
However, in the modern era of digital technology, the traditional face-to-face interaction between referring clinicians and radiologists is becoming less and less common. The use of teleradiology services has increased the frequency of radiologist-clinician communications, but this type of communication is often limited to answering specific questions from clinicians rather than providing general advice or education. This type of communication has also led to an increase in the volume of critical findings that must be communicated quickly.
The current process of reaching clinicians to discuss a radiology report is cumbersome and time-consuming. This is particularly true when a critical finding needs to be communicated immediately to the referring physician. The resulting interruptions and delays in workflow can cause frustration for both the clinician and the radiologist.
A recent study showed that radiologists with more active engagement with their referring colleagues are more likely to report accurately. The study’s authors recommend implementing a more structured communication strategy that includes real-time consultations and direct radiologist-clinician communication.
Moreover, they suggest a more flexible and efficient system for transmitting critical test results to the referring clinicians. They argue that the system should allow referring physicians to choose their preferred method of communicating with a radiologist and to select the most appropriate time for the discussion. This would help reduce the number of critical test results that are overlooked or misinterpreted, and thus improve the quality of care delivered to patients.
Moreover, the authors suggest that radiographers who are currently rostered to work in ED isolation utilise pre-recorded audio instructions. This is a good way to communicate with the clinical support team and demonstrate the value of their work product. This approach can also be used for other radiology departments with high rejection rates of CXRs, such as critical care units.
