Assessment of radiology physicians by a regulatory authority

To determine whether it is possible to develop a feasible, valid, and reliable multisource feedback program for radiologists.

Surveys with 38, 29, and 20 items were developed to assess individual radiologists by eight radiologic colleagues (peers), eight referring physicians, and eight co-workers (eg, technicians), respectively, by using five-point scales along with an "unable to assess" category. Radiologists completed a self-assessment on the basis of the peer questionnaire. Items addressed key competencies related to clinical competence, collegiality, professionalism, workplace behavior, and self-management. The study was approved by the University of Calgary Conjoint Health Ethics Research Board.

Data from 190 radiologists were available. The mean numbers of respondents per physician were 7.5 of eight (1259 of 1520, 83%), 7.15 of eight (1337 of 1520, 88%), and 7.5 of eight (1420 of 1520, 93%) for peers, referring physicians, and co-workers, respectively. The internal consistency reliability indicated all instruments had a Cronbach alpha of more than 0.95. The generalizability coefficient analysis indicated that the peer, referring physicians, and co-worker instruments achieved a generalizability coefficient of 0.88, 0.79, and 0.87, respectively. The factor analysis indicated that four factors on the colleague questionnaire accounted for 70% of the total variance: clinical competence, collegiality, professional development, and workplace behavior. For the referring physician survey, three factors accounted for 64.1% of the variance: professional development, professional consultation, and professional responsibility. Two factors on the co-worker questionnaire accounted for 63.2% of the total variance: professional responsibility and patient interaction.

The psychometric examination of the data suggests that the instruments developed to assess radiologists are a feasible way to assess radiology practice and provide evidence for validity and reliability.