Requesting radiological investigations - do junior doctors know their patients? A cross-sectional survey.

Bosanquet, Dc ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2304-0489, Cho, Js, Williams, N, Gower, D, Gower Thomas, K and Lewis, Mh 2013. Requesting radiological investigations - do junior doctors know their patients? A cross-sectional survey. JRSM Short Reports 4 (1) , pp. 1-6. 10.1258/shorts.2012.012043

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Abstract

Objectives To ascertain clinicians’ knowledge of their patients when requesting radiological investigations, as required legally by UK government legislation ‘Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2000’ (IRMER 2000), following the implementation of European Working Time Directive. Design Cross sectional survey. Participants All doctors requesting radiological requests every Monday, following the weekend on-call, over an 8-week period. There were no exclusion criteria. Main outcome measures Baseline data analysis, including grade and specialty of requesting doctor, types of modality requested, knowledge of their patient, addressograph signature confirming identity and appropriateness of investigation. Results 164 requests were received, the majority (61%) were made by Foundation Programme 1 (FP1) doctors and general medical specialties accounted for the highest proportion of requests (45%). Ultrasound scanning was the most frequently requested investigation (47%), closely followed by computed tomography (CT) scans (42%). Almost a third (30%) of requests were made by doctors who had not seen the patient to be investigated, predominantly by FP1 doctors (p=0.003) and more frequently by general medical specialties (p=0.001). Signatures were absent on 20% of the addressographs and overall, 10% of requests were deemed inappropriate. Conclusions In almost a third of radiological requests, doctors have not seen patients to be investigated, most likely as a result of shift working patterns. This does not fulfil the IRMER 2000 criteria and potentially exposes patients to unnecessary and inappropriate radiation.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Medicine
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
ISSN:	2042-5333
Last Modified:	26 Jun 2024 16:00
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/169966

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