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Erschienen in:
14.03.2017 | Original Article
Reading efficiency can be improved by minor modification of assigned duties; a pilot study on a small team of general radiologists
Erschienen in: Japanese Journal of Radiology | Ausgabe 5/2017
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Purpose
To assess whether alterations in the type of duty assignment system can affect the reading efficiency and stress level of diagnostic radiologists.
Materials and methods
Fourteen board-certified diagnostic radiologists were enrolled. We investigated three different reading systems for 1 week each. System 1 is our default, in which there are no assigned duties and everyone finishes when all cases are done. In system 2, two late shift readers are assigned every day, and, after everyone else leaves at a fixed time (5:30 p.m.), they take all remaining cases until they are finished. In system 3, a dedicated single reader is assigned to finish 30 cases, and everyone else will read all remaining cases. The total time required for reading and the number of cases read were recorded. In addition, participants completed two questionnaires regarding work-related stress.
Results
There was a trend toward shorter finishing time in system 2 and 3 compared to system 1 (P = 0.072 and 0.012). In terms of working stress, the subjective burden was lighter when systems 2 or 3 were employed.
Conclusion
Minor modification of the duty assignment system has the potential to improve working efficiency and may reduce the work-related stress of diagnostic radiologists.