Citing CRICO’s CBS data, the University of California San Diego Medical Center has instituted a
significant change for its Radiology
service. Armed with malpractice and
local data demonstrating the clinical
and financial risks associated with
delays that led to significant injuries
and deaths, leadership moved to
expand the hours when an attending
radiologist is available to provide
final reads for ED patients.
Radiologists providing critical
visuals and interpretations of your
ED patients’ complaints are also
susceptible to clinical judgment
errors or organizational systems
failures. This CRICO CBS study
found that, across all organizations,
Radiology was the responsible
service identified in seven percent of
the ED diagnosis-related cases, with
misinterpretation of tests being the
factor most commonly identified.
Organizations that ensure that an
attending radiologist has read a film
prior to transmission of findings to
the ED (or patient discharge)—and
those that leverage EMR technology
to ensure that physicians are reading
and responding to the most updated
radiological studies—are better
poised to draw accurate conclusions
and initiate appropriate treatment.