Objectives The objective of this study was to compare the radiology report turnaround time (RTAT) between decentralized/modality-based and centralized/subspecialized radiological reporting at a multi-center radiology enterprise. Methods RTAT values for MRI, CT, and conventional radiography were compared between decentralized/modality-based (04 September 2017–22 December 2017) and centralized/subspecialized radiology (03 September 2018–21 December 2018) reporting grouped into three subspecializations (body radiology, musculoskeletal radiology, and neuroradiology) at eleven sites of a multi-center radiology enterprise. For the objective of this investigation, hospitals were defined as major and minor hospitals. The Mann-Whitney U test served for statistical analyses. Results Change of reporting system from decentralized/modality-based to centralized/subspecialized radiology resulted overall in a significant decrease of the RTAT: from 82 to 77 min for the first signature (p < 0.001), and 119 to 107 min and 295 to 238 min for the second signature (p < 0.001). Subgroup analyses demonstrate a significant decrease of the RTAT for MRI reports (e.g., second signature RTAT, 1051 to 401 min; p < 0.001) and conventional radiographs (e. g., second signature RTAT, 278 to 171 min; p < 0.001). The RTAT at major hospitals decreased from 288 to 245 min (second signature; p < 0.001) while the corresponding RTAT of minor hospitals decreased more remarkably, from 300 to 198 min (p < 0.001). However, the results were heterogenous; in some analyses, the RTAT even increased. The effect size analyses represent small effects. Conclusions Change of reporting system from decentralized/modality-based to centralized/subspecialized radiology was associated with a significant decreased RTAT. Specifically, the RTAT for MRI reports and conventional radiographs was significantly reduced. A pronounced RTAT decrease was observed at minor hospitals.
Objectives: To determine the effects of reorganizing a radiology institute from decentralized/modality-based to centralized/subspecialized radiology on radiologists, radiologic technicians, and referring physicians at a multi-center radiology network. Material and Methods: In 2017/2018 our multi-center radiology network was changed from decentralized/modality-based to centralized/subspecialized reporting. A survey was conducted among radiologists, technicians and two groups of referring physicians (main hospital and non-main hospitals). The following items were tested: Overall satisfaction, perceived quality of radiological reports, subjective productivity/efficiency, confidence of radiologists in their subspecialty, availability of radiologists and turnaround time. Two of five answering options on a 5-point Likert scale were considered to represent agreement. The Mann-Whitney-U-test served for statistical analyses in agreement before and after reorganization in each group. Results: For radiologists, a significant difference was observed in perceived quality of radiological reports 42/46 (91.3%) compared to 51/52 (98.1%; p = 0.013). For technicians, no significant differences were observed. In the group of main hospital referring physicians, significant differences were observed in overall satisfaction 129/152 (84.9%) compared to 164/174 (94.3%; p < 0.001) and in perceived quality of radiological reports 125/148 (72.8%) compared to 157/170 (92.4%; p = 0.001). In the group of non-main hospital referring physicians no significant differences were observed. Conclusion: The reorganization resulted in a significantly higher perceived quality of radiological reports for the groups of radiologists and main hospital referring physicians besides overall satisfaction for main hospital referring physicians. Specialized main hospital referring physicians value reports of specialized radiology, whereas less specialized, non-main hospital referring physicians did not experience any significant effect.
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