Page 11 - 2022 Risk Basics - Radiology
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SVMIC Risk Basics: Radiology
• Mammograms: Failure to identify suspicious micro-calcifications
associated with abnormal density that later were diagnosed as
Stage 4 carcinoma.
• MRI: Missed spinal tumor.
• X-rays: Missed lung masses and missed fractures.
The failure to recommend proper follow-up imaging was likewise
frequently asserted as negligent medical judgment in the reviewed cases.
Claims analysis also revealed two additional risk areas that merit
discussion: documentation errors and communication breakdowns. If you
have ever attended any of our risk education seminars, taken one of our
online courses, or read any of our Risk Education materials, you are aware
that documentation and communication errors and omissions are the two
contributing factors that make claims “indefensible” or, certainly, more
difficult to defend. While this is true for all medical specialties, it probably
has no greater significance than for radiology because in no other
area of medicine are the factors of communication and documentation
so intertwined — the radiology report serves as both the primary
documentation and, typically, the primary communication.
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