| Title |
Requesting spinal MRIs effectively from primary care referrals
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
European Spine Journal, April 2018
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s00586-018-5578-0 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Ignatius Liew, Fraser Dean, Gillian Anderson, Odhrán Murray |
| Abstract |
To define if MRI scans can accurately be requested based on information provided in the primary care referral and, therefore, streamline the patient journey. The demand for outpatient spinal appointments significantly exceeds our services' ability to provide efficient, high-quality patient care. Currently, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the spine is requested following first consultation. During routine vetting of primary care referral letters, three consultant spinal surgeons recorded how likely they thought each patient would be to have an MRI scan. Following the first consultation with the spinal service, the notes of each patient were reviewed to see if an MRI was requested. We measured the positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), sensitivity and specificity of ordering MRI scans based on primary care referral letters. 149 patients were included [101 females, 48 males, mean age 49 (16-87)]. There were 125 routine, 21 urgent, and 3 'urgent-suspected cancer' referrals. The PPV of ordering MRIs before first consultation was 84%, NPV was 56% with the sensitivity and specificity being 82 and 59%, respectively. Ordering MRIs during initial vetting could shorten the patient journey with potential socioeconomic benefits. MRI scans can be effectively ordered based on the information provided by the primary care referral letter. Requesting MRI scans early in the patient journey can save considerable time, improve care, and deliver cost savings. These slides can be retrieved under Electronic Supplementary Material. |
X Demographics
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Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| France | 1 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 1 | 100% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 19 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 19 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Researcher | 6 | 32% |
| Student > Master | 3 | 16% |
| Student > Doctoral Student | 2 | 11% |
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 1 | 5% |
| Other | 1 | 5% |
| Other | 2 | 11% |
| Unknown | 4 | 21% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Medicine and Dentistry | 9 | 47% |
| Nursing and Health Professions | 3 | 16% |
| Social Sciences | 1 | 5% |
| Engineering | 1 | 5% |
| Unknown | 5 | 26% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 1. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 10 April 2018.
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#18,601,965
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Outputs from European Spine Journal
#2,504
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#255,537
of 329,243 outputs
Outputs of similar age from European Spine Journal
#31
of 100 outputs
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