PORTER: a Prototype System for Patient-Oriented Radiology Reporting.

Area of Science:

• Medical Informatics
• Radiology Communication
• Patient Education

Background:

• Effective communication is vital for patient engagement in healthcare decisions.
• Radiology reports, traditionally for providers, are increasingly accessed by patients.
• Patients often struggle to understand complex medical terminology in radiology reports.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a system (PORTER) that augments radiology reports with lay-language definitions.
• To enhance patient understanding of their medical imaging results.
• To empower patients in their healthcare decision-making process.

Main Methods:

• Analyzed 100 knee MRI reports to identify common terms.
• Created a glossary of 313 terms with simple definitions and linked resources.
• Ensured definitions were at a 10th-grade reading level or below using Flesch-Kincaid scores.
• Developed an interactive website for patients to access annotated reports and images.

Main Results:

• A glossary of 313 commonly used terms in knee MRI reports was created.
• Definitions were verified for readability at or below a 10th-grade level.
• The PORTER system successfully annotated reports with definitions and relevant images.
• Patients could access their reports interactively via a secure web portal.

Conclusions:

• The Patient-Oriented Radiology Reporter (PORTER) system effectively enhances patient understanding of radiology reports.
• This tool empowers patients by providing accessible information about their medical imaging.
• Improving report readability can foster greater patient participation in medical care.