Overlap shifts to help urgent findings communication
Overlapping radiologist works shifts can speed up the communication of urgent x-ray findings and improve patient care, a study from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard concludes.
Overlapping radiologist works shifts can speed up the communication of urgent x-ray findings and improve patient care, a study from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard concludes.
Facilities use on-call radiologists or teleradiology services especially for MRI and CT. But in many places, coverage for interpretation of other imaging, such as conventional x-rays, is incomplete, especially during overnight and early morning hours.
To determine any change in communication of urgent findings, the study compared day shifts overlapped by the early morning shifts with standard day shifts.
The study included 6448 x-ray exams performed during an early morning radiologist shift (3 a.m. to 11 a.m.). Urgent findings requiring immediate communication were detected in 308 studies. The mean elapsed time from image acquisition to the communication of urgent results was 340 minutes in the study group and 457 minutes in the control group, a nearly two-hour difference (J Am Coll Radiol 2010;7:715-721).
Newsletter
Stay at the forefront of radiology with the Diagnostic Imaging newsletter, delivering the latest news, clinical insights, and imaging advancements for today’s radiologists.
The Reading Room Podcast: A Closer Look at Remote MRI Safety, Part 3
August 1st 2025In the third of a three-part podcast episode, Emanuel Kanal, M.D. and Tobias Gilk, MRSO, MRSE, discuss strategies for maintaining the integrity of time-out procedures and communication with remote MRI scanning.
The Reading Room Podcast: A Closer Look at Remote MRI Safety, Part 2
August 1st 2025In the second of a multi-part podcast episode, Emanuel Kanal, M.D. and Tobias Gilk, MRSO, MRSE, share their perspectives on remote MRI safety protocols for ensuring screening accuracy and adherence to conditional implant guidelines as well as a rapid and effective response to adverse events.
Twenty Years of CT Colonography for Colorectal Cancer Screening: What the Research Reveals
August 1st 2025Computed tomography colonography (CTC) demonstrated a 91.6 percent positive predictive value (PPV) for polyps > 6 mm, according to new research involving over 9,000 patients who underwent CTC for primary asymptomatic colorectal cancer screening.
