Evaluation of the Patient Request Process for Radiology Imaging in U.S. Hospitals

Area of Science:

• Radiology and Medical Imaging
• Health Informatics
• Patient Rights and Access

Background:

• Patients have a legal right to access protected health information in the U.S.
• Limited research exists on patient request processes and barriers for accessing radiology images.
• Understanding these barriers is crucial for improving patient access to their medical data.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate U.S. hospitals' compliance with federal regulations regarding patient access to imaging studies.
• To assess the ease with which patients can request and obtain their radiology images.
• To identify common formats, processing times, fees, and departmental procedures for image release.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 80 U.S. hospitals was conducted.
• Telephone interviews simulated the patient experience of requesting imaging studies.
• Hospitals were compared based on release formats (CD, email, portal), cine file accessibility, fees, and processing times.

Main Results:

• All hospitals offered imaging studies on CDs; only 8% provided email access and 4% offered online patient portals.
• Requests for cine files often involved departments outside diagnostic radiology (59% of hospitals).
• Processing times were generally compliant (74% within 24 hours), with fees varying by format.

Conclusions:

• While compliant with regulations, hospitals predominantly offer patient imaging studies via CDs, restricting convenient digital access.
• The fragmentation of imaging studies across multiple departments complicates the request process for patients.
• Improvements in digital access and streamlined request procedures are needed to enhance patient access to radiology images.