[btomba_77]

I usually break non-contiguous exams into different reports.
 
(like your example of left wrist and right ankle above)
 
But I wouldn’t take kindly to a clinician complaint about a partner who decided to lump it all together.
 
Ignore.
 
 

[sarah.r.huntington]

I do all MSK films grouped.
I also do multiple time point CXRs grouped (e.g. original, 3hr later, 14 hr later).
 
I’m your clinician’s worst nightmare.

[ruszja]

Some of this is driven by the hospital. We have one that puts multiple studies into one folder on PACS and reports them out under one report. A bit of a pain to have that many different templates but its very time efficient. Another one does the 1 study 1 report thing and you lose time opening/closing and you have more reports to sign.

[ruszja]

Quote from Xtatero

I do all MSK films grouped.
I also do multiple time point CXRs grouped (e.g. original, 3hr later, 14 hr later).

I’m your clinician’s worst nightmare.

 
I used to do summary reports for NICU films. You often had 4 or 5 films and they all had the same indication and date of service. Just a table of the films and the different lines and tubes.

[aldoctc]

Quote from TurboEcho

…..
  Is this “provider” just being a ****?  
……

 
Maybe yes, maybe no.  
 
Years ago, I had a surgeon complain about some pedantic aspect of one of my reports (something akin to “infiltrate” vs. “opacity”, the order of my findings in the report, etc.).  When he’d finished his little tirade, I asked him if he used 6-0 or 7-0 Prolene for his vascular anastomoses.  He asked WTF that had to do with anything and I told him that I thought he should really use 7-0 because, you know, it’s really better.  He muttered some obscenity then hung up.  Never heard from him again, which was my goal.  
 
Now as an older man, I don’t even both with $hit like this anymore.  
 
Unsubscribe!
 

[JohnnyFever]

I’m with Dergon, don’t link non-contiguous x-rays.  Unless its an arthritis workup or something

[amyelizabethbarrett28_711]

I love linking contiguous body parts on the same report. Who wants to describe the humeral fracture three separate times on the shoulder, humerus, and elbow films?

I also will do chest, abd, and pelvis CTs under one report

[toumeray]

I think if a bunch of MSK films (even noncontiguous) are ordered by the same provider, its fine to combine but you have to have a seperate line for each film. You dont need redundancy but I usually do put significant findings visible on multiple studies in each report with detail on only one ie humerus xr says Humeral fracture, spiral and communities with lateral displacement. Shoulder xr humeral fracture, see above

I NEVER combine studies ordered by different providers, regardless of how well they go together. This is a medico legal issue, because you are effectively including an uninvolved provider into reviewing reports on studies they did not order nor have anything to do with.

[alex.nieto_484]

I group contiguous body parts. A few times a year I group a CT abdomen/pelvis with an MRI abdomen when they are done at the same time.  

[gmail.com]

Agree w/ your last point.
Rads don’t say anything about how they do their job.  Maybe we should be critical of how they give us the clinical info.  Give us the clinical question you want us to answer with this study.
 
Most of the criticism is probably b/c they don’t want to read through the body of the report and just want the most brief and accurate summary of the study.
 

Quote from TurboEcho

We have had some docs complain about xray reports grouped together.

Seems absurd.  I agree, reading a left wrist and a right ankle xray may prove a little cumbersome on same report, but a Right shoulder and humerus and a right knee and left knee together seems kosher.  Is this “provider” just being a ****?  

Is this not standard practice?  I don’t tell him/her how to dictate their physical exam… 

[lisa.kipp_631]

I think the only time Ive hung up on someone was a PA upset I grouped a MR brain with an MR orbits. I wasnt even angry, I just couldnt think of a bigger waste of time than trying to justify the grouping and decided to set the phone down instead.

[william.wang_997]

Looks like someone who is stressed up for something else trying to take it out on the radiologist. OP is correct in lumping right and left knee , I do it all the time and have not heard anything from anyone.
 
Everyone else is more stressed than a rad sitting in his or her chair…and dictating seems like. 

[tdetlie_105]

Quote from TurboEcho

We have had some docs complain about xray reports grouped together.

Seems absurd.  I agree, reading a left wrist and a right ankle xray may prove a little cumbersome on same report, but a Right shoulder and humerus and a right knee and left knee together seems kosher.  Is this “provider” just being a ****?  

Is this not standard practice?  I don’t tell him/her how to dictate their physical exam… 

 
Contiguous anatomy on the same side  seems to make sense in my mind…Working level 1 trauma I’ve seen all initial exams for pt lumped into 1 report which would be cumbersome to read through particularly since there are numerous impressions for each exam/modality.  Would be more palatable to have one impression at the bottom of the dictation but regardless I myself can’t produce a report containing mixed anatomy and modality (CT and plain film), just feels off

[amyelizabethbarrett28_711]

Somebody mentioned not grouping different modalities together in the same report.

In general I agree, but I do dictate my diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound studies under one report and copy the report to the other modalitys report and give one bi rads category for both studies.

[cchandc]

I group all xrays and carefully label separately in findings and impression. If they don’t want so many grouped, then maybe they should order less. The more xrays/imaging they order on one patient, the more likely it will be completely normal.

[mario.mtz30_447]

huge double standard for radiology reports vs clinical notes. Clinical notes are embarrassingly horrible.  And I swear when they enter the history that autopopulates in our templates, they misspell everything on purpose.  Got tired of correcting spell check all their errors in PowerScribe
 
To criticize grouping of our reports.  Pot, meet Kettle.
 
 

[tdetlie_105]

Quote from acpce1

Somebody mentioned not grouping different modalities together in the same report.

In general I agree, but I do dictate my diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound studies under one report and copy the report to the other modalitys report and give one bi rads category for both studies.

 
I think is a well accepted norm with breast imaging. Though we typically have 1 final BI-RADS

[satyanar]

Quote from jd4540

Quote from acpce1

Somebody mentioned not grouping different modalities together in the same report.

In general I agree, but I do dictate my diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound studies under one report and copy the report to the other modalitys report and give one bi rads category for both studies.

I think is a well accepted norm with breast imaging. Though we typically have 1 final BI-RADS

 
One combined report for mammo and US with a single category is what BI-RADS recommends. 

[Unknown Member]

If its a one-off clinician preference, the its a sorry, thats how we do it to save time.

Now if they go back to their group and a couple of them agree that they really need us to jump, well ask how high.

[ruszja]

Things you dont want to group:
 
– studies with different dates of service
– studies with different location/type of service. Patient gets CXR in the OP office over in the ‘medical pavillion’ but then gets admitted and has another inpatient CXR. Both show up as ‘GreatMedicalCenter’ on your PACS but they are different types of service.
– studies that while identical in location and type the technical charge is billed under different entities and different enrollment records. E.g. you work in an facility were general x-ray CT and mammo are enrolled under ‘Superfragilicious Imaging, LLC’ but the utrasounds are performed and billed by ‘Awesome Ultrasounders, LLC’. While you as rad bill professional component charges for both under ‘Mans Best Radiologists, PC’, the fact that the technical charges come from two separate entities may throw a wrench in the routing of the report and charges.
 
In the end your admin people should be able to tell you what you can and cannot group.
 
I have never had complaints about ‘like’ films being put together. e.g. all the MSK films ordered by a Rheumatologist. Now if you have hands/wrists/ankles/feet and a CXR, I tend to put the CXR separate