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Indications for pelvic sonography-Do patients and doctors agree?
1Department of Radiology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, 330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA.
Journal of Clinical Ultrasound : JCU
|February 7, 2001
Summary
Patient and provider histories for pelvic sonography align 77% of the time. Factors like education and provider gender influence this concordance, impacting patient care and workflow efficiency.
Area of Science:
- Radiology
- Medical Communication
- Patient History
Background:
- Discrepancies between referring clinician and patient history are common in pelvic sonography.
- These history mismatches can delay scans and disrupt clinical workflow.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the incidence of history discrepancies between referring clinicians and patients for pelvic sonography.
- To identify factors contributing to these discrepancies.
Main Methods:
- A 3-month prospective study of outpatients undergoing pelvic sonography.
- Patients reported their understanding of the sonography reason; providers' reasons were recorded.
- Logistic regression analyzed concordance based on patient and physician characteristics.
Main Results:
- Patient and provider histories were concordant in 77% of 173 cases.
- Concordance was higher for patients with managed care insurance, higher education, longer provider relationships, or seen by female providers.
- No association found between history concordance and abnormal sonographic findings.
Conclusions:
- Healthcare providers generally communicate adequately about pelvic sonography reasons.
- Additional time may be needed for patients with limited education.
- Male physicians should be mindful of communication with female patients.