It’s one of radiology’s great dilemmas – should patients get their own radiology reports? A new review article in JACR examines this question in more detail, documenting shifting attitudes toward data sharing among radiologists, referring physicians, and patients themselves.
In reality, the question of whether patients should get their own reports has been settled by the 2022 implementation of federal information blocking rules that prevent providers from withholding patient data.
- But open questions remain, such as the best mechanisms for delivering data to patients and how to ensure they aren’t confused or alarmed by radiology findings.
To that end, researchers conducted a systematic review of studies from 2007 to 2023 on patient access to radiology reports, eventually identifying 33 publications that revealed …
- 70% of studies found patients expressing positive preference toward accessing their radiology reports, a trend consistent over the entire study period.
- 42% of studies documented patient difficulties in understanding medical terminology.
- 33% highlighted concerns about patient anxiety and emotional impact.
- Physician opinions on report sharing shifted from 2010 to 2022, from initial dissatisfaction to a gradual appreciation of its benefits.
- Most studies focused on patient opinions rather than those of referring physicians and radiologists, whose opinions were found in only 18% and 9% of studies, respectively.
A major problem identified by the researchers is that radiology reports have medical terminology that isn’t easily understood by patients – this can lead to confusion and anxiety.
- Communicating findings in plain language could be one solution, but the researchers said little progress has been made due to “resistance from radiologists and entrenched reporting practices.”
Although it wasn’t mentioned by the study authors, generative AI offers one possible solution by using natural language processing algorithms to create patient-friendly versions of clinical reports.
- Indeed, patient-facing reports are a major use case for generative AI, with studies already documenting high levels of patient satisfaction.
The Takeaway
Once patients get access to their own reports, it’s impossible to put that genie back in the bottle. Rather than debating whether patients should get radiology reports, the question now should be how radiologists can ensure their reports will be understood without confusion by their ultimate customer – patients.
