A Survey of Radiologists and Referring Veterinarians Regarding Imaging Reports

Abstract

An imaging report is a vital communication tool between a radiologist and clinician. In a field where in-person communication may not be readily available, it is imperative that the report clearly relays pertinent clinical information in a timely manner. The purpose of this observational study was to describe and compare opinions and expectations of small animal general practitioners, veterinary specialists, and veterinary radiologists regarding the imaging report. Online surveys were distributed, and data were collected from 202 veterinary clinicians and 123 veterinary radiologists. The majority (89%) of clinicians were satisfied with their imaging reports and stated that they read the radiology report as soon as it was available (92%). Just less than half (48%) of clinicians indicated it was standard of care that a board-certified veterinary radiologist read all imaging studies. Radiologists and clinicians agreed that a clinical history (98% and 94%, respectively) and clinical question (82% and 68%, respectively) were needed to generate a good radiology report. Fifty-five percent to 70% of clinicians prefer red bulleted reports, which included incidental findings (96%); while radiologists slightly favored prose reporting (37-46%). Clinicians found it helpful when additional imaging (86%), medical (71%), and surgical recommendations (73%) were made. About one-third of specialists who had been in practice for >11 years thought they were better able to interpret imaging for their own specialty than the radiologist. Clinicians voiced discontentment with reports that were not completed in a timely manner or did not give a prioritized differential list. Further studies are warranted to provide a more in-depth evaluation of veterinary radiology reporting structure and style.

Survey of surgical specialists’ content preferences in radiology reports for extrahepatic portosystemic shunts

“…Therefore, it was not deemed possible to calculate an accurate response rate percentage, without such a response rate being underestimated. The only other survey of veterinary professionals on radiology reporting also had a low number of responses, with a response rate of approximately 5% from nonradiologists . Similar to that study, the reason for the low number of responses may be due to time constraints of the respondents, lack of incentive for completing the survey, lack of interest in the subject matter, or for the American College of Veterinary Surgeons diplomates, the need to proactively engage in the Facebook group and web forum rather than respond to an email prompt as for the European College of Veterinary Surgeons and Association of Veterinary Soft Tissue Surgeons.…”

“…This study demonstrates the importance of including additional features, such as urolithiasis, renomegaly, and peritoneal fluid, in the imaging report. While we have shown that surgeons commonly assess the imaging studies themselves, a previous survey has shown that veterinary specialists believe that radiologists often report findings that they would not have noticed themselves . These additional findings may have implications for surgical suitability or explain concomitant signs, such as lower urinary tract signs with urolithiasis.…”

“…In the case of incomplete surveys, skipped statements for noncompulsory questions were not included in statistical analysis. In accordance with previous radiological survey studies, results of the 5‐point Likert scale were combined into three categories: “agree entirely” and “rather agree” as a total agreement, “disagree entirely” and “rather disagree” as a total disagreement, and “neutral.” A total of more than 50% in one of the three categories was considered the threshold for an overall agreement, disagreement, or neutral response to each statement. Statements for which the 50% threshold was not reached in any of the three categories were considered “undecided.” To assess the relationship between responses and categorical demographic data, the two categories of total agreement and total disagreement were used.…”

Evaluation of Radiographic Positioning Techniques Used in Local Hospitals after Teleradiology Consultation

“…Nevertheless, to avoid misdiagnosis and gain professional interpretation, local animal hospitals are looking for exclusive radiologists, but the number of radiologists is currently not meeting the demand. As the alternative plan, they are using teleradiology to get the second opinions from specialists (4,6).…”