Veterinary clinicians prefer template-style reports with personal confidence estimates for cytologic sample...

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Medicine
• Diagnostic Pathology

Background:

• Cytology report formats vary, impacting communication between veterinary clinicians and pathologists.
• Understanding user preferences is crucial for optimizing diagnostic reporting.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the preferred cytology report formats among veterinary clinical pathologists, clinicians, and students.
• To identify potential improvements in cytology report structure for enhanced clarity and utility.

Main Methods:

• An online survey was distributed to members of the Veterinary Information Network.
• Respondents (clinical pathologists, veterinarians, veterinary students) ranked four different cytology report formats.
• Qualitative comments were collected for the top-ranked report format.

Main Results:

• Veterinary clinicians and students showed a preference for template formats.
• Clinical pathologists favored traditional narrative formats.
• The narrative format with confidence estimates was ranked highest overall, despite some misunderstanding of numerical confidence levels.

Conclusions:

• Template formats may improve standardization and communication for veterinary cytology reporting.
• Further education is needed for both clinicians and pathologists on the interpretation of confidence estimates in reports.
• Adapting reporting styles based on user preferences can enhance diagnostic efficiency.