Asian Intensive Reader of Pneumoconiosis program: examination for certification during 2008-2020

Area of Science:

• Occupational Medicine
• Radiology
• Pulmonary Medicine

Background:

• Physician performance in pneumoconiosis diagnosis is critical for early detection and management.
• The Asian Intensive Reader of Pneumoconiosis (AIR Pneumo) program assesses and certifies physicians' reading abilities.
• Understanding performance disparities can inform targeted training and improve diagnostic accuracy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze physician participation and performance in AIR Pneumo examinations (2008-2020).
• To compare radiograph reading performance between physicians who passed and failed the examinations.
• To identify specific areas of diagnostic difficulty for underperforming physicians.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 555 physicians from 20 countries who took AIR Pneumo certification/recertification exams.
• Summarized participant demographics, trends, pass/fail rates, and proficiency scores.
• Evaluated differences in pneumoconiosis radiograph readings between passing and failing groups.

Main Results:

• Physician participation in AIR Pneumo exams increased from 2008-2020.
• Passing rates were 83.4% for certification and 76.8% for recertification.
• Physicians who failed tended to over-diagnose pneumoconiosis, misidentify opacity profusion, miss large opacities/pleural plaques, and struggle with small opacity shape recognition.

Conclusions:

• Physicians failing AIR Pneumo exams demonstrate a tendency towards over-diagnosis and specific reading errors.
• Difficulties in recognizing small opacity shapes and large opacities/pleural plaques were noted in failing physicians.
• Findings highlight the need for focused training to address diagnostic inaccuracies in pneumoconiosis screening.