Efficiency of Outsourcing Reporting in Thorax Computed Tomography Evaluation: Retrospective Analysis of 350 Thoracic Surgery Cases.

Abstract

External reporting is frequently used due to the significant increase in computed tomography examinations in recent years and the insufficient number of personnel in internal reporting. We aimed to evaluate the adequacy of outsourcing reporting. Patients who were seen or hospitalized as a consultation by thoracic surgeons with thoracic computed tomography between January 2021 and January 2022 were included in the study retrospectively. Computed tomography results reported by radiologists working in our hospital were grouped as "internal reports," and the results reported externally by a company were grouped as "outsourcing reports." The total number of computed tomography examinations taken during the same period and the number of examinations reported by a daily average radiologist were also determined. False-negative findings in internal and outsourcing reports were evaluated and statistically compared between groups. A total of 84 702 computed tomography scans were taken in 2021. In external reporting, 1 physician reported an average of 202.83 computed tomography scans per day (74 033 per year). A total of 350 thorax computed tomography reports were evaluated. A total of 304 (86.9%) thorax computed tomography examinations were reported with external reporting and 46 (13.1%) with internal reporting. False-negative findings other than those reported were found in 81 reports (23.1%). A significantly higher deficiency was observed in external reporting (77/304) compared to internal reporting (4/46). (P = .013). The effectiveness of external reporting was found to be lower than internal reporting due to a possible lack of communication and audit problems. In order to minimize the errors and related liability arising from external reporting, primarily a legal standardization is required with realistic reporting numbers of external reporting.