Bruce I. Reiner

Evolution of the digital revolution: a radiologist perspective.

The transformation from film-based to filmless operation has become more and more challenging, as imaging studies expand in size and complexity. To adapt to these changes, radiologists must proactively develop new workflow strategies to compensate for increasing work demands and the existing workforce shortage. This article addresses the evolutionary changes underway in the radiology interpretation process and reviews changes that have occurred in the past decade. These include a number of developments in soft-copy interpretation, which is migrating from a relatively static process, duplicating film-based interpretation, to a dynamic process, using multi-planar reconstructions, volumetric navigation, and electronic decision support tools. The result is optimization of the human–computer interface with improved productivity, diagnostic confidence, and interpretation accuracy.

The Challenges, Opportunities, and Imperative of Structured Reporting in Medical Imaging

Despite dramatic innovation in medical imaging and information system technologies, the radiology report has remained stagnant for more than a century. Structured reporting was created in the hopes of addressing well-documented deficiencies in report content and organization but has largely failed in its adoption due to concerns over workflow and productivity. A number of political, economical, and clinical quality-centric initiatives are currently taking place within medicine which will dramatically change the medical landscape including Pay for Performance, Evidence-Based Medicine, and the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative. These will collectively enhance efforts to improve quality in reporting, stimulate new technology development, and counteract the impending threat of commoditization within radiology. Structured reporting offers a number of unique opportunities and advantages over traditional free text reporting and will provide a means for the radiology community to add value to its most important service deliverable the radiology report.

Radiology reporting: returning to our image-centric roots.

OBJECTIVE Despite extraordinary advances in imaging and information technologies, the form and content of radiology reporting has changed little in the disciplines more than 100-year history. In this commentary, we outline the challenges that have confronted innovations such as speech recognition and structured reporting and call for a radical rethinking of the reporting process. By combining new applications with the expanding power of radiology and hospital information systems, the attention of the radiologist--and his or her referring colleagues--could be more focused on the image and its meaning. CONCLUSION One promising result of such a change in focus could be improved and more reliable communication, already an area of heightened concern in the imaging community. Moreover, such a shift away from the printed word to image-centered content could lead to benefits in shared image viewing; more streamlined and timely reporting; data mining of aggregate results; and image archives, and, ultimately, enhancement of the consultative value of the radiologists contribution to patient care and treatment.

Workflow Optimization: Current Trends and Future Directions

In an attempt to maximize productivity within the medical imaging department, increasing importance and attention is being placed on workflow. Workflow is the process of analyzing individual steps that occur during a single event, such as the performance of an MRI exam. The primary focus of workflow optimization within the imaging department is automation and task consolidation, however, a number of other factors should be considered including the stochastic nature of the workload, availability of human resources, and the specific technologies being employed. The purpose of this paper is to determine the complex relationship that exists between information technology and the radiologic technologist, in an attempt to determine how workflow can be optimized to improve technologist productivity. This relationship takes on greater importance as more imaging departments are undergoing the transition from film-based to filmless operation. A nationwide survey was conducted to compare technologist workflow in film-based and filmless operations, for all imaging modalities. The individual tasks performed by technologists were defined, along with the amount of time allocated to these tasks. The index of workflow efficiency was determined to be the percentage of overall technologist time allocated to image acquisition, since this is the primary responsibility of the radiologic technologist. Preliminary analysis indicates technologist workflow in filmless operation is enhanced when compared with film-based operation, for all imaging modalities. The specific tasks that require less technologist time in filmless operation are accessing data and retake rates (due to both technical factors and lost exams). Surprisingly, no significant differences were reported for the task of image processing, when comparing technologist workflow in film-based and filmless operations. Additional research is planned to evaluate the potential workflow gains achievable through workflow optimization software, improved systems integration, and automation of advanced image processing techniques.

Uncovering and Improving Upon the Inherent Deficiencies of Radiology Reporting through Data Mining

Uncertainty has been the perceived Achilles heel of the radiology report since the inception of the free-text report. As a measure of diagnostic confidence (or lack thereof), uncertainty in reporting has the potential to lead to diagnostic errors, delayed clinical decision making, increased cost of healthcare delivery, and adverse outcomes. Recent developments in data mining technologies, such as natural language processing (NLP), have provided the medical informatics community with an opportunity to quantify report concepts, such as uncertainty. The challenge ahead lies in taking the next step from quantification to understanding, which requires combining standardized report content, data mining, and artificial intelligence; thereby creating Knowledge Discovery Databases (KDD). The development of this database technology will expand our ability to record, track, and analyze report data, along with the potential to create data-driven and automated decision support technologies at the point of care. For the radiologist community, this could improve report content through an objective and thorough understanding of uncertainty, identifying its causative factors, and providing data-driven analysis for enhanced diagnosis and clinical outcomes.

Impact of filmless imaging on the frequency of clinician review of radiology images.

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of filmless imaging on the frequency with which physicians access radiology images and to assess clinician perception of image accessibility using a hospital-wide Picture Archival and Communication System (PACS). Quantitative data were collected at the Baltimore VA Medical Center (BVAMC), prior to and after conversion to filmless imaging, to determine the frequency with which clinicians access radiology images. Survey data were also collected to assess physician preferences of image accessibility, time management, and overall patient care when comparing filmless and film-based modes of operation. In general, there was a significant increase in the average number of radiology images reviewed by clinicians throughout the hospital. However, the one area in the hospital where this trend was not observed was in the intensive care unit (ICU), where the frequency of image access was similar between film and filmless operations. Ninety-eight percent of clinicians surveyed reported improved accessibility of images in a filmless environment resulting in improved time management. The mean clinician estimate of time saved due to the use of PACS was 44 minutes. The study documented a combination of clinician perception of improved accessibility and substantial time savings with the use of a hospital-wide PACS, which was supported by objective measurements. The increased frequency of image review by clinicians and rapid image access should provide a further impetus to radiologists to decrease report turnaround time to provide “added value” for patient care.

Digital Radiography Reject Analysis: Data Collection Methodology, Results, and Recommendations from an In-depth Investigation at Two Hospitals

Reject analysis was performed on 288,000 computed radiography (CR) image records collected from a university hospital (UH) and a large community hospital (CH). Each record contains image information, such as body part and view position, exposure level, technologist identifier, and—if the image was rejected—the reason for rejection. Extensive database filtering was required to ensure the integrity of the reject-rate calculations. The reject rate for CR across all departments and across all exam types was 4.4% at UH and 4.9% at CH. The most frequently occurring exam types with reject rates of 8% or greater were found to be common to both institutions (skull/facial bones, shoulder, hip, spines, in-department chest, pelvis). Positioning errors and anatomy cutoff were the most frequently occurring reasons for rejection, accounting for 45% of rejects at CH and 56% at UH. Improper exposure was the next most frequently occurring reject reason (14% of rejects at CH and 13% at UH), followed by patient motion (11% of rejects at CH and 7% at UH). Chest exams were the most frequently performed exam at both institutions (26% at UH and 45% at CH) with half captured in-department and half captured using portable x-ray equipment. A ninefold greater reject rate was found for in-department (9%) versus portable chest exams (1%). Problems identified with the integrity of the data used for reject analysis can be mitigated in the future by objectifying quality assurance (QA) procedures and by standardizing the nomenclature and definitions for QA deficiencies.

The filmless radiology reading room: A survey of established picture archiving and communication system sites

The purpose of this study was to survey radiologists experienced in soft-copy diagnosis using computer workstations about their current reading room environment, their impressions of the efficacy of their reading room design, and their recommendations based on their experience for improvement of the soft-copy reading environment. Surveys were obtained from radiologists at seven sites representing three major picture archiving and communication system (PACS) vendors throughout the world that have had extensive experience with soft-copy interpretation of radiology studies. The radiologists filled out a detailed survey, which was designed to assess their current reading room environment and to provide them with the opportunity to make suggestions about improvement of the PACS reading rooms. The survey data were entered into a database and results were correlated with multiple parameters, including experience with PACS, types of modalities interpreted on the system, and number of years of experience in radiology. The factors judged to be most important in promoting radiologist productivity were room lighting, monitor number, and monitor brightness. Almost all of the radiologists indicated that their lighting source was from overhead rather than indirect or portable light sources. Approximately half indicated they had the capability of dimming the brightness of the overhead lighting. Most radiologists indicated that they were able to adjust room temperature but that they did not have individual temperature controls at their workstations. The radiologists indicated that the most troublesome sources of noise included background noise, other radiologists, and clinicians much more than noise from computer monitors, technologists, or patients. Most radiologists did not have chairs that could recline or arm rests. Most did have wheels and the capability to swivel, both of which were judged important. The majority of chairs also had lumbar support, which was also seen to be important. Radiologists commonly adjusted room lighting and their reading chair, but rarely adjusted room temperature or monitor brightness. The median number of hours spent at the workstation before taken a “break” was 1.5. Common recommendations to improve the room layout included compartmentalization of the reading room and availability of the hospital/radiology information system at each workstation. The survey data suggest several areas of potential improvement based on radiologists’ experience. Optimization of soft-copy reading room design is likely to result in decreased fatigue and increased productivity.

Electronic teaching files: seven-year experience using a commercial picture archiving and communication system.

With the advent of electronic imaging and the internet, the ability to create, search, access, and archive digital imaging teaching files has dramatically improved. Despite the fact that a picture archival and communication system (PACS) has the potential to greatly simplify the creation of, archival, and access to a department or multifacility teaching file, this potential has not yet been satisfactorily realized in our own and most other PACS installations. Several limitations of the teaching file tools within our PACS have become apparent over time. These have, at our facility, resulted in a substantially reduced role of the teaching file tools for conferences, daily teaching, and research purposes. With the PACS at our institution, academic folders can only be created by the systems engineer, which often serves as an impediment to the teaching process. Once these folders are created, multiple steps are required to identify the appropriate folders, and subsequently save images. Difficulties exist for those attempting to search for the teaching file images. Without pre-existing knowledge of the folder name and contents, it is difficult to query the system for specific images. This is due to the fact that there is currently no fully satisfactory mechanism for categorizing, indexing, and searching cases using the PACS. There is currently no easy mechanism to save teaching, research, or clinical files onto a CD or other removable media or to automatically strip demographic or other patient information from the images. PACS vendors should provide much more sophisticated tools to create and annotate teaching file images in an easy to use but standard format (possibly Radiological Society of North America’s Medical Image Resource Center [MIRC] format) that could be exchanged with other sites and other vendors’ PAC systems. The privilege to create teaching or conference files should be given to the individual radiologists, technologists, and other users, and an audit should be kept of who has created these files, as well as keep track of who has accessed the files. Vendors should maintain a local PACS library of image quality phantoms, normal variants, and interesting cases and should have the capability of accessing central image repositories such as the RSNA’s MIRC images. Commercial PAC systems should utilize a standard lexicon to facilitate the creation and categorization of images, as well as to facilitate sharing of images and related text with other sites. This should be combined with a very easy to use mechanism to write images and related text when appropriate onto removable media (while maintaining a high level of security and confidentiality) to make it easier to share images for teaching, research, or clinical purposes.

The Insidious Problem of Fatigue in Medical Imaging Practice

Fatigue represents a temporary inability to respond to a situation due to inadequate recuperation from overactivity; which can manifest in mental, emotional, or physical forms [1]. Occupational fatigue has been identified as a contributing factor in numerous catastrophic events including the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl nuclear reactor meltdowns, the Challenger Space Shuttle disaster, The Bhopal Union Carbide plant explosion, and the grounding and resulting oil spill of the Exxon Valdez oil tanker [2, 3]. In medicine, fatigue has been well documented as a source of medical errors, exacerbated by the continuous (i.e., around the clock) requirements for service delivery as well as associated disruption of circadian rhythms [4, 5]. Other sources of medical error that could be exacerbated by fatigue include excessive workload, cognitive overload, imperfect information processing, poor communication, and flawed decision making [6]. One can argue that all of these sources of medical error are ubiquitous in the current healthcare practice, and steadily rising as service demands and quality expectations continue to escalate. As reimbursements trend downwards, healthcare providers attempt to compensate by increasing their individual and collective practice productivity. While computerized medical technologies offer the potential to improve workflow and productivity, there is a theoretical point in which increasing productivity becomes offset by potential quality deficiencies. At the same time, healthcare consumers are placing increasing demands on providers for access to healthcare data, collaborative decision making, and quality accountability measures [7–9]. The collective stressors of worsening healthcare economics, increased workload, and heightened quality concerns serve as inevitable source of fatigue and stress on healthcare providers. These in turn can further compromise productivity and quality deliverables. If this cycle of perpetual occupational fatigue is to be successfully addressed and circumvented, it is first essential that the healthcare community identify the sources, create proactive mechanisms for objective data collection and analysis, and develop effective countermeasures.