David Joseph Vining MD, Presenter: Royalties, Bracco Group

Andreea Pitici, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Mihai Jurca, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Iulian Aghenitei, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Radu Rosu, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Effective and efficient communication of critical results during a radiologist's busy practice remains a necessary task for mitigating malpractice risk due to miscommunication. We have developed a multimedia structured reporting solution, called ViSion, which automatically sends notification of critical results to a referring physician via short message service (SMS) to his or her smartphone and/or email, and subsequently provides a mechanism for return receipt verification.

Multimedia structured reporting combined with a process to automatically send notification of critical results and track return receipt verification provides a solution to mitigate a significant malpractice risk in diagnostic radiology.

Notification of critical results is a mandatory function required by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospital Organizations (JCAHO). The automation of this task with return receipt verification is desired. We have incorporated this task into a novel structured reporting solution to both improve the reporting process and facilitate the rapid communication of critical results.

We have developed a multimedia structured reporting solution, called ViSion, which captures key images while a radiologist identifies and describes image findings. The key images are tagged with metadata extracted from the verbal descriptions of each key image, including the existence of a critical finding. When a radiologist signs off on a structured report containing a critical finding, the ViSion system automatically sends notification to a referring physician's smartphone via SMS and/or email including the key image, tagged metadata descriptors, and the voice recording from the radiologist. The system provides a mechanism for the referring physician to provide a return receipt verification that is automatically logged into the system. If the critical result is not acknowledged by the referring physician after a threshold time limit, the ViSion system sends another notification to the referring physician, logs these attempts into a database, and notifies the ViSion system administrator.

Vining, D, Pitici, A, Jurca, M, Aghenitei, I, Rosu, R, Automatic Notification of Critical Results Using ViSion Structured Reporting.  Radiological Society of North America 2012 Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting, November 25 - November 30, 2012 ,Chicago IL. http://archive.rsna.org/2012/12029458.html