ArticleBMC health services research2009
What causes increasing and unnecessary use of radiological investigations? A survey of radiologists' perceptions.
Article in BMC health services research, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 51 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
51 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
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- Contemporary diagnostic imaging modalities for the staging and surveillance of melanoma patients: a meta-analysis.Journal of the National Cancer Institute · 2011Pooled it
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- Temporal and geographical variations in musculoskeletal imaging: a register-based study in Norway with focus on potential low-value imaging.Research in health services & regions · 2025Article
- Evaluation of an Autonomous Robotic System for Reducing Radiation Risk in a Real-World Cardiac Imaging Laboratory.Journal of medical systems · 2025Article
- Effect of continuous professional development and clinical imaging guidelines on reducing inappropriate computerized tomography utilization among children and young patients in low resource settings: a before-and-after study.African health sciences · 2025Article
- Evaluating head CT referral quality and appropriateness in an Italian emergency department: a monocentric retrospective study.Insights into imaging · 2025Article
- Geographical variations and potential low-value neuroimaging examinations in Norway from 2013 to 2022.Research in health services & regions · 2025Article
- Mapping Educational uncertainty stimuli to support health professions educators' in developing learner uncertainty tolerance.Advances in health sciences education : theory and practice · 2025Article
- Unnecessary Medical Imaging and Determinant Factors in a District Hospital of Iran: A Cross-Sectional Study.Health science reports · 2024Article
- Norwegian general practitioners' and radiologists' perspectives on the referral, justification, and unnecessary imaging-a survey.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2024Article
- Temporal and geographical variations in diagnostic imaging in Norway.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Patient flow analysis with fast-track MRI for suspected stroke in the emergency department and associated non-comprehensive stroke center.Therapeutic advances in neurological disorders · 2024Article
- Proximal femur diaphysis osteoid osteoma mimicking lumbar radiculopathy.Turkish journal of physical medicine and rehabilitation · 2023Article
- Diagnostic Technology: Trends of Use and Availability in a 10-Year Period (2011-2020) among Sixteen OECD Countries.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Drivers for low-value imaging: a qualitative study of stakeholders' perspectives in Norway.BMC health services research · 2023Article
- Factors Associated With Inpatient Subspecialty Consultation Patterns Among Pediatric Hospitalists.JAMA network open · 2023Article
- The use of low-value imaging: the role of referral practice and access to imaging services in a representative area of Norway.Insights into imaging · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundGrowth in use and overuse of diagnostic imaging significantly impacts the quality and costs of health care services. What are the modifiable factors for increasing and unnecessary use of radiological services? Various factors have been identified, but little is known about their relative impact. Radiologists hold key positions for providing such knowledge. Therefore the purpose of this study was to obtain radiologists' perspective on the causes of increasing and unnecessary use of radiological investigations.
methodsIn a mailed questionnaire radiologist members of the Norwegian Medical Association were asked to rate potential causes of increased investigation volume (fifteen items) and unnecessary investigations (six items), using five-point-scales. Responses were analysed by using summary statistics and Factor Analysis. Associations between variables were determined using Students' t-test, Spearman rank correlation and Chi-Square tests.
resultsThe response rate was 70% (374/537). The highest rated causes of increasing use of radiological investigations were: a) new radiological technology, b) peoples' demands, c) clinicians' intolerance for uncertainty, d) expanded clinical indications, and e) availability. 'Over-investigation' and 'insufficient referral information' were reported the most frequent causes of unnecessary investigations. Correlations between causes of increasing and unnecessary radiology use were identified.
conclusionIn order to manage the growth in radiological imaging and curtail inappropriate investigations, the study findings point to measures that influence the supply and demand of services, specifically to support the decision-making process of physicians.
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