From the November 2020 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine

As time went on, the use of CT for diagnosing COVID-19 largely fell out of favor, as less costly imaging techniques and testing alternatives were developed.

Scan misinterpretation biggest cause of patient injury in diagnostic radiology
Evaluating closed malpractice claims in both diagnostic and interventional radiology, medical malpractice insurer The Doctors Company announced last December that most injuries took place in exams where misinterpretations occurred, which took place in 78 percent of cases — especially ones involving CT.
“Since the CT scan has become so ubiquitous and widely available, it has evolved into an essential tool in many imaging-based diagnoses,” Dr. Bradley Delman, vice chair for quality in radiology in the Mount Sinai Health System told HCB News. “Unlike the two-dimensional X-ray, a CT scan provides three-dimensional perspective, and with recent advances in resolution and imaging quality, a single CT exam often contains many hundreds of images. A subtle finding among such a large data set may be harder to detect overall. In addition, unlike the MR that may be used to refine a specific diagnosis, CT has become much more of a screening tool than it had been in the past.”

Delman reviewed the study for The Doctors Company along with other physician experts to form an accurate and unbiased understanding of what led to patient injuries. The most common type of misinterpretation was undiagnosed malignancy. CT scans were performed in 34 percent of the 78 percent of cases where injury was caused by scan misinterpretation.

For interventional radiology, technical performance was responsible for patient injuries in 76 percent of cases, most of which involved patients experiencing poor outcomes following invasive procedures. Technical performance led to negative results in 65 percent of cases where the correct procedure was performed appropriately, while only 11 percent of claims were due to poor technique or incorrect body site.

Darrell Ranum, vice president of the department of patient safety and risk management at The Doctors Company, chalks injuries in cases where procedures were appropriately executed up to risks of the operation. The findings, he told HCB News, highlight the importance of communication between radiologists and clinicians, as well as with patients prior to surgery and other procedures.

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November 2020 Magazine

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