We are happy to announce the publication “Rethinking Radiology Reports: A survey of referring physicians’ perspectives” in European Journal of Radiology.

The study by Philipp Reschke is based on the idea to consistently evaluate the quality of radiological reports from the perspective of referring physicians – those who request imaging studies and base therapeutic decisions on the results. In a prospective survey of 258 referring physicians in Germany, only moderate satisfaction with report completeness was observed, with surgeons being significantly less satisfied than internists and general practitioners. A clear majority preferred short, structured reports (74.3%); in particular, clear diagnostic classification and concrete management recommendations were frequently perceived as lacking from the referrers’ perspective.

Multidisciplinary case conferences were rated as helpful to very helpful by 85% of referring physicians in improving their understanding of radiological reports. The particular strength of the study lies in its systematic analysis of report quality from the referrers’ viewpoint, thereby providing a solid foundation for recipient-oriented, clinically relevant, and interdisciplinary radiological reporting and communication. The findings highlight the need for continued development of standardized, structured reporting frameworks that more closely align radiological communication with clinical decision-making processes and foster deeper interdisciplinary collaboration. Future research should focus on implementing and prospectively validating structured, clinically integrated reporting formats to assess their impact on diagnostic confidence, therapeutic decision-making, and interdisciplinary communication.

The publication can be found by clicking on this link Rethinking radiology reports: A survey of referring physicians’ perspectives – ScienceDirect