Rationale and Objectives
The purpose of this study was to measure the effect of distractions, in the form of
telephone call interruptions, on radiology resident diagnostic accuracy.
Materials and Methods
Radiology resident discrepancy reports and reading room telephone logs at an academic
tertiary care pediatric hospital were collected over a 13-month period. Phone call
times and durations were recorded. Major discrepancy shifts (defined as a call shift
where at least one major discrepancy was discovered the following morning by the attending
radiologist between the resident preliminary and attending final reports), and dictation
time stamps for each discrepant preliminary dictation were also recorded. Telephone
call volume and preliminary report time stamps were compared between “discrepancy
shifts” and “no discrepancy shifts.”
Results
Each call shift spanned 14 hours, during which one radiology resident was responsible
for the generation of preliminary interpretations. Review of the discrepancy log data
revealed 51 major discrepancies in 41 shifts, of which 39 discrepancies had documented
error details and resident preliminary report time stamps. The average number of telephone
calls for the “discrepancy shifts” was slightly greater than the “no discrepancy shifts”
(48.59 vs. 44.02) but was not statistically significant (P = .0575). However, there was a statistically significant increase in the average
number of phone calls in the 1 hour preceding the generation of a discrepant preliminary
report versus the “no discrepancy shifts” (4.23 vs. 3.24 calls, P = .027). One additional phone call during the hour preceding the generation of a
discrepant preliminary report resulted in a 12% increased likelihood of a resident
error (P = .017).
Conclusions
Distractions in the form of telephone call interruptions may negatively impact on-call
radiology resident diagnostic accuracy. Efforts should be made to limit distractions
in the reading room.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: September 30, 2014
Accepted:
August 1,
2014
Received:
June 18,
2014
Identification
Copyright
© 2014 AUR. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
