Needs of Referring Providers by Practice Type: Results of a Survey at an Academic Medical Center.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to test a published hypothetic framework of different referring provider needs for primary care, specialty care, and urgent or emergency care practitioners through questions asked in an annual survey at an academic medical center. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Seven questions regarding provider needs were included in an annual online anonymous survey of referring providers. Multiple-choice response options were provided. Differences in responses between provider types were assessed using the Mann-Whitney U test. RESULTS. The survey was sent to 3325 providers, and 514 responses were received (response rate, 15.5%). The analysis included 340 responses: 81 from primary care, 205 from specialty care, and 54 from urgent or emergency care. Results indicated that urgent or emergency care providers need examinations to be performed and interpreted more quickly, specialist providers prefer greater radiologist specialization, urgent or emergency care providers order imaging with greater frequency, primary care and urgent or emergency care providers order a greater breadth of imaging, primary care providers report greater reliance on radiologist interpretations, and all provider types highly value direct interactions with radiologists. All results were statistically significant and matched established hypotheses. CONCLUSION. Our results support the concept that referring providers tend to value different aspects of radiology services differently, according to predictable characteristics. The findings suggest that the concept of value in radiology is highly context-specific and can be evaluated, at least in part, using practice-specific referring provider assessments.