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Avoid Penn Radiology
I am an experienced radiologist. I need to bring something to your attention.
A preprint of an article coming from Penn, and with the Chairman as one of the authors appeared on JACR website last fall.
You can get a copy here:
[link=https://www.dropbox.com/s/cky6rjrwcmwhtt4/SCHNALL%20-%20TECHS%20READ%20AS%20WELL%20AS%20RESIDENTS.pdf?dl=0]https://www.dropbox.com/s…S%20RESIDENTS.pdf?dl=0[/link]
We had heard from the grapevine that Penn was allowing radiology techs (NOT Radiology Assistants – the less trained techs) to interpret films. Conveniently, they let us know this was true.Within hours after the Provost had been notified of ethical lapses in the work (the residents did not know they were being used as subjects, and did not consent), the paper was retracted. (The JACR editors would not retract it – the Provost at Penn interceded). The residents, after they found what had been done, were furious, but of course cannot say that to the Chairman.
The authors maintained (on the ACR message board), that the radiologists were still responsible for all content. To which I say: of course. They absorb the legal responsibility.
However, one must ask what kind of review is this considering that the faculty read 62.4 cases per hour on their own, and the Techs, ostensibly with review, read 93.6 cases per hour. You read that right – Techs with the additional step of faculty review read about 50% more cases per hour than the faculty aloneThat is obviously not a thorough review, more a rubber stamp.
Our profession is under attack on many fronts. This may be the most serious – academics claiming that techs read as well as radiologists – and thus “proving” we are useless and dispensable. TO be replaced by radiology techs. Our other enemies will of course seize on this to remove us from patient care. “Even Penn says the techs are as good as radiologists” And of course it is not true.It is clear that this was done not to improve patient care, but to make more money. A pure money grab. In an institution that supposedly values quality work, and quality patient care.
What can we -the radiology community – do at this point? Publicize their actions, for one. Done. Avoid their residency, for another. Do not patronize their CME programs.
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9 Replies
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Reading 60-90 CXR/hr seems absolutely insane even with teed up reports. Maybe if they are all outpatient PA and laterals. So Penn has chest rads that are literally signing 500 x-rays a day? That seems absolutely insane and blatantly negligent to me.
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Removed due to GDPR request
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Seriously? Some hard working PP radiologists can make that in 3 months or less.
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Removed due to GDPR request
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That number is so low it’s offensive. WTF. They probably pay their radiology assistants more than that. Hope no one is stupid enough to oblige.
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Word on the street is that RadPartners is funding ACR lobbyist efforts to pass more and more “radiology assistant/extenders” privileges. Again, no surprise, so that the venture capitalists behind all the buyouts can make more money. How do we fight that? Now more than half of the postings on the ACR job search site are RadPartners jobs… they are getting too big.
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100% agreed. the radiologists that get gobbled up by radpartners have to stay for a couple years. please jump ship ASAP. let that company burn to the ground.
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Considering that this is a major federal felony, I’m pretty sure that it won’t be going on for much longer.
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What is a felony?
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