title: The Effect of Faster Reporting Speed for Imaging Studies on the Number of Misses and Interpretation Errors: A Pilot Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of the study was to determine if increasing radiologist reading speed results in more misses and interpretation errors.
  
  
  METHODS
  We selected a sample set of 53 abdomen-pelvis CT scans of variable complexity performed at a teaching hospital during the study period. We classified the CT scans into 4 categories based on their level of difficulty, with level 4 representing the most-complex cases. Five attending radiologists participated in the study. We initially established an average baseline reporting time for each radiologist. Radiologists were randomly assigned a set of 12 studies, of varying complexity, to dictate at their normal speed, and a separate set of 12 studies, of similar complexity, to read at a speed that was twice as fast as their normal speed. The major and minor misses were recorded and analyzed. A χ(2) analysis was used to compare the results.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Reading at the faster speed resulted in more major misses for 4 of the 5 radiologists. The total number of major misses for the 5 radiologists, when they reported at the faster speed, was 16 of 60 reported cases, versus 6 of 60 reported cases at normal speed; P = .032. The average interpretation error rate of major misses among the 5 radiologists reporting at the faster speed was 26.6%, compared with 10% at normal speed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our pilot study found a significant positive correlation between faster reading speed and the number of major misses and interpretation errors.
authors.affiliation: Monmouth Medical Center, Long Branch, New Jersey. Electronic address: jeniasokolov@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Evgeniya
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sokolovskaya
authors.affiliation: Monmouth Medical Center, Long Branch, New Jersey.
authors.forename: Tejas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shinde
authors.affiliation: Monmouth Medical Center, Long Branch, New Jersey.
authors.forename: Richard B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Ruchman
authors.affiliation: Monmouth Medical Center, Long Branch, New Jersey.
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Kwak
authors.affiliation: Monmouth Medical Center, Long Branch, New Jersey.
authors.forename: Stanley
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Monmouth Medical Center, Long Branch, New Jersey.
authors.forename: Yasmeen K
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Shariff
authors.affiliation: Monmouth Medical Center, Long Branch, New Jersey.
authors.forename: Ernest F
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: Wiggins
authors.affiliation: Monmouth Medical Center, Long Branch, New Jersey.
authors.forename: Leizle
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Talangbayan
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence; D003951:Diagnostic Errors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D010388:Pelvis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011860:Radiography, Abdominal; D013997:Time Factors; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
keywords: Faster reporting speed; abdomen and pelvis CT; interpretation errors; major misses