A Michigan hospital was able to reduce its backlog of screening mammograms and speed up report turnaround time through a series of steps that included batched workflow and elimination of paper forms. Researchers describe their work in a new paper in Current Problems in Diagnostic Radiology.
Mammography screening has always been a big challenge for breast radiologists, who typically read hundreds of normal mammograms before encountering an actual breast cancer.
- These challenges have only gotten worse with rising exam volumes and the well-documented shortage of radiologists, a combination that can lead to growing backlogs and longer report turnaround times.
At the University of Michigan Health System, turnaround times for mammography reports had ballooned to 8.3 days, prompting researchers to investigate ways to make the breast imaging service more efficient.
Study authors identified three main areas that slowed mammography TAT …
- Interruptions during radiologist reading shifts.
- Paper-based workflow.
- Cumbersome report dictation workflow.
So they developed a program called “Uninterrupted with Assistant” that eliminated the facility’s traditional reading model – eight-hour reading shifts in which radiologists were also responsible for other tasks like breast MRI and interventional procedures.
- Instead, they implemented four-hour shifts where radiologists batch-read mammograms without interruption. They were also aided by a clerical staff member as a “live transcriptionist” who reviewed charts and drafted pre-dictated reports in real time.
The mammography service also ditched its paper workflow in favor of having patients complete intake forms on tablets, while technologists entered data on computers.
- Finally, they updated their reporting to a standard template with pre-populated fields, based on FDA- and MQSA-approved verbiage.
They then tested the Uninterrupted with Assistant program over 32 weeks in 2021, finding that during the program …
- Mean report turnaround time fell 39% (51 vs. 83 hours).
- The institution’s TAT goal of less than 72 hours was achieved more often (93% vs. 35%).
- Radiologists experienced fewer distractions (2.0 vs. 5.6 on a 10-point scale).
The Takeaway
Batch reading isn’t new (neither is mammography worklist software), but combining the two with a ride-along assistant in the reading room creates a powerful productivity package. The Michigan model is an experience that can be emulated by other mammography centers struggling to improve efficiency and clear their backlog.
