Decreased quality of care linked to communication errors in radiology, study finds

Miscommunication in the radiology department reduces care quality, suggests a new study published in the American Journal of Roentgenology.

The study retrospectively examined 380 patient cases with communication errors spanning roughly 10 years at one medical center. Researchers categorized each error in regards to its place in the workflow of the radiology department. The impact on patient care was then attributed a number on a five-point scale to denote the severity of its detrimental impact on care quality, with zero being no impact, four being catastrophic impact. There were 21 minor impact cases, 34 moderate impacts and 89 major impacts. No impact was noted in 236 cases.

The results specifically highlight the importance of efficient communication regarding patient care in the radiology department.

The study is limited by the small sample size and the self-reported nature of the quality assessment database, which may not reflect all communication errors.

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