title: Impact of a Structured Report Template on the Quality of MRI Reports for Rectal Cancer Staging.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of implementing a structured report template on the quality of MRI reports for rectal cancer staging.
  
  
  METHODS
  After excluding examinations performed after surgery or neoadjuvant therapy, we analyzed all rectal cancer staging MRI reports finalized at an academic medical center 12 months before and after an intervention consisting of implementing a structured report template integrated into the institution's speech recognition system. The primary outcome measure was the quality of rectal cancer staging MRI reports classified as optimal, satisfactory, or unsatisfactory, on the basis of the documentation of 14 quality measures predefined by a consensus of the institution's abdominal radiology subspecialists. Chi-square and t tests were used to assess differences in report quality and documentation of each discrete quality measure before and after the intervention.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study cohort included 106 MRI reports from 104 patients (mean age, 60 years; 58.5% male); 52 (49.1%) of the reports were completed before implementation of the structured report template. After implementation, the proportion of total reports classified as optimal or satisfactory increased from 38.5% (20/52) to 70.4% (38/54) (p = 0.0010). No reports generated before the intervention were classified as optimal, whereas 40.7% (22/54) of reports were classified as optimal after the intervention.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Implementation and voluntary use of a structured report template improved the quality of MRI reports for rectal cancer staging compared with free-text format.
authors: 1 Center for Evidence-Based Imaging, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 20 Kent St, 2nd Fl, Brookline, MA 02445.|2 Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
authors: V Anik
authors: VA
authors: Sahni
authors: 1 Center for Evidence-Based Imaging, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 20 Kent St, 2nd Fl, Brookline, MA 02445.|2 Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
authors: Patricia C
authors: PC
authors: Silveira
authors: 2 Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
authors: Nisha I
authors: NI
authors: Sainani
authors: 1 Center for Evidence-Based Imaging, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 20 Kent St, 2nd Fl, Brookline, MA 02445.|2 Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
authors: Ramin
authors: R
authors: Khorasani
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D005568:Forms and Records Control / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D058996:Quality Improvement; D012004:Rectal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*
keywords: rectal cancer staging MRI; report quality; structured report template