Challenging Encounters: A Systematic Scoping Review to Understand Patients' Influence on GPs' Compliance With Imaging...

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Primary Care Medicine
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Patient-centered care models increase patient engagement in health.
• Patients increasingly access online health information, leading to requests for diagnostic imaging.
• General Practitioners (GPs) face pressure to fulfill imaging requests, sometimes conflicting with clinical guidelines.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore challenges GPs face responding to patient imaging requests.
• To identify how these challenges impact adherence to imaging guidelines.
• To investigate GP strategies and support systems for managing imaging requests and guideline compliance.

Main Methods:

• Systematic scoping review following Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines.
• Searches conducted across Embase, Medline, Scopus, CINAHL, and Web of Science.
• PRISMA-ScR reporting guidelines were adhered to.

Main Results:

• 11 studies revealed conflicts between patient expectations, anxiety, health literacy, medico-legal concerns, and institutional incentives versus evidence-based imaging.
• GPs employed patient-centered trust-building, clinical expertise, and decision aids.
• Moderate quality of included studies was noted, assessed using Hoy's risk of bias and CASP analysis.

Conclusions:

• Patient-centered care is vital for GP rapport, but challenges like economic incentives impede guideline adherence for diagnostic imaging.
• Interdisciplinary communication and ongoing GP education are key for compliance.
• Reimbursement restructuring and improved imaging accessibility can enhance patient understanding and appropriate use of diagnostic imaging.