Abstract
Purpose: To evaluate the availability and completeness of previous radiological examinations.
Material and Methods: Seven different types of examinations were analysed separately: 1) chest examinations, 2) bedside chest examinations, 3) skeletal examinations, 4) angiographic examinations, 5) mammographic examinations, 6) CT examinations, and 7) MR examinations. A retrospective part of the study covered the calendar year 1997, while a prospective part referred to 1998. The sample size in each modality and each part of the study was 100 observations, resulting in a total number of 1,400 examinations.
Results: The average availability and completeness of radiographs in the retrospective analysis was 96.9% in 1997. The average availability and completeness of radiographs in the prospective analysis was 85.5% for the year 1998. This applied to necessary previous examinations of the same or different modality irrespective whether the examination was conducted internally or externally.
Conclusion: The real loss rate of radiographs derived from the retrospective investigation was 3.1%. The prospective part of the study showed that 14.5% of the required previous internal and external examinations of the same or different modality were not available completely and in time to the examining radiologist.
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