Journal article
Radiologic interpretation by family physicians in an office practice setting
The Journal of family practice, Vol.41(4), pp.352-356
10/01/1995
PMID: 7561708
Abstract
BACKGROUNDRadiology is an integral part of the office practice of many family physicians. Nevertheless, data are sparse on the performance of family physicians in this endeavor. This study investigated the performance of family physicians at interpreting radiographs ordered in a free-standing family practice office.METHODSA consecutive series of radiographic studies performed at a family practice office during a 3-year period was surveyed. All radiographic studies included in this analysis (N = 1674) were separately interpreted by the family physician ordering the study and an overreading radiologist. If the interpretations agreed, the studies were accepted as having been correctly interpreted. Cases in which the interpretations disagreed were reexamined.RESULTSFamily physicians correctly interpreted 92.4% of the radiographic studies (95% confidence interval, 91.0 to 93.6). Their accuracy with extremity films (96.0%) was significantly higher than their accuracy with chest films (89.3%, P < .001). Family physicians were more likely to correctly interpret normal films (95.2%) than abnormal ones (85.9%, P < .001). Thirty-five percent of the cases in which there were differences between family physician and radiologist interpretations were correctly interpreted by family physicians.CONCLUSIONSFamily physicians showed a high degree of accuracy in radiologic interpretation in an office setting. Chest films were inherently more difficult to interpret than extremity films. Because correct interpretation depends on body part examined and the prevalence of disease, the performance of family physicians will probably vary in different practice settings.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Radiologic interpretation by family physicians in an office practice setting
- Creators
- G R BergusE A Franken JrT J KochW L SmithE R EvansK S Berbaum
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- The Journal of family practice, Vol.41(4), pp.352-356
- PMID
- 7561708
- ISSN
- 0094-3509
- eISSN
- 1533-7294
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 10/01/1995
- Academic Unit
- Radiology; Physician Assistant Studies; Psychiatry; Family and Community Medicine
- Record Identifier
- 9984280872202771
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