The Doctor Is In!

Cincinnati Children’s Department of Radiology performs studies for hundreds of children each day. While many of these are children in our hospital, there are many more who are coming to us from their doctor’s offices. Children and their families typically receive the results of their study through their doctor’s office or MyChart. If they are not returning immediately to their doctor’s office, there may be a delay between having the imaging done and receiving those results. Sometimes that wait can be stressful!

In an effort to serve our patients better, Dr. David Mihal has been leading a project to offer immediate results and consultation with a radiologist to some of our patients and families.

Photo: Dr. David Mihal reading plain radiograh study.

WHO?
The project started in July 2015 by offering this service to a limited group of patients, but has been expanded over the course of the project. We now offer this service to any outpatient having a plain radiograph performed in our department at the main hospital site – even if they have a clinic visit scheduled for that same day.

WHEN?
Radiologists are typically available to meet with patients and families right after the study is finished. Because there are fewer radiologists working in the hospital in the evening and on weekends, this service is offered until 6 pm on weekdays.

WHAT?
If a patient or family opts to receive their results immediately, one of our radiologists will review the images and then meet with the patient and family to give them the results of the examination. The study may have been performed to look for pneumonia in a child with a cough or a fracture following an injury. Many parents are relieved to know immediately that their child doesn’t have pneumonia, or that their arm may be bruised but isn’t broken. On the flip side, finding out that their child does have pneumonia or a broken bone lets them know to get in touch with their doctor as soon as possible to make a plan for the next steps in treatment. This also gives families an opportunity to ask any questions they may have about the study or the results.

This is a free service that we offer to our patients and families. If you choose to receive your results from the radiologist – even though you are meeting with a doctor – this is not a clinic visit and there is no extra charge. It is important for you to follow up with the doctor who ordered your study to determine the next steps in treating your child.

Featured in this post: Dr. David Mihal
Dr. David Mihal, is in his final year of radiology residency at the University of Cincinnati. He has been leading this project since it began in July 2015 in an ongoing effort to continuously improve the delivery of care to our patients. He was inspired to start this project as part of his work with the American College of Radiology’s Radiology Leadership Institute. To learn more about the ACR Radiology Leadership Institute, visit their site at www.radiologyleaders.org.

Contributions by Dr. Emily Orscheln and edited by Janet Adams, (ADV-US-Tech).