2023 ARRS ANNUAL MEETING - ABSTRACTS

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E1906. Need for Speed: Tips to Increase Reporting Efficiency in the Emergency Setting Without Sacrificing Accuracy
Authors
  1. Julian Sison; Yale School of Medicine
  2. Long Tu; Yale School of Medicine
  3. Aishwarya Pillai; Yale School of Medicine
  4. Victor Becerra; Yale School of Medicine
  5. Mehmet Adin; Yale School of Medicine
Background
The continually increasing volume of imaging studies in medical practice translates to growing demand for efficient interpretation. Modern imaging protocols, including multi-phase exams, 2D/3D reconstructions, and other postprocessed datasets, have also resulted in an increased number of images per study. Modern radiologists are expected to review more images, read more efficiently, and do so without compromising accuracy. Emergency/trauma imaging in particular demands high-speed, high-accuracy interpretation, with clear implications of fast reporting for patient management and outcomes. In this educational exhibit, we present strategies, most relevant for trainees and junior attending radiologists, to maximize the efficiency of interpretations of emergency imaging without compromising accuracy. Many of these principles will be relevant for general practice.

Educational Goals / Teaching Points
We will start by discussing how the evolving practice of radiology has created an increased demand for efficiency. We will then discuss workflow-related modifications including optimization of search pattern and PACS functionality to make the visual analysis of studies faster. We will also address ways to maximize the speed of dictation for the highest volume (and highest time commitment) studies seen in emergency imaging. We will introduce examples of time-saving dictation tools (macros, pick lists, templates) and apply these tools via examples of efficient versus inefficient reporting. Finally, we will provide rich text-format files for macro-based examples discussed in this presentation.

Key Anatomic/Physiologic Issues and Imaging Findings/Techniques
Topics addressed include but are not limited to: search patterns, efficiency-boosting dictation tools (macros, pick lists, templates), and workflow optimization.

Conclusion
The increasing volume of imaging studies and expectations of modern medicine challenges today's radiologists to negotiate a delicate balance between efficiency and accuracy. Therefore, there is great value in developing and disseminating techniques that can expedite one's workflow and reduce time spent on low-value tasks. Techniques such as optimizing search patterns and adapting efficient dictation tools can greatly facilitate the process of producing a report. In this presentation we discuss ways to incorporate these techniques and provide examples of their effective use. We hope that by informing others of these strategies (and by providing access to these tools via hyperlink) we can help a broad audience adapt to increasing imaging demand without sacrificing accuracy in the process.