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- Title
UTILIZATION AND EVALUATION OF SURGICAL PATHOLOGY REPORTS BY FAMILY PHYSICIANS: A Post-Analytical Quality Assurance Study.
- Authors
Stevenson, Margaret K.; Carter, Michael D.; Bethune, Gillian C.
- Abstract
Background: Information on surgical pathology report literacy among primary care physicians is lacking. Our aim was to assess the utilization of surgical pathology reports by family physicians, and to provide pathologists with feedback on how their reports are perceived by this group. Methods: An email survey was deployed to all family physicians listed with the Faculty of Family Medicine at Dalhousie University in the Maritime Provinces (n=519). Semi-quantitative analysis was performed using SPSS software. Results: 84 physicians completed our survey (16% response rate). The physicians were equally distributed in rural, intermediate, and urban areas throughout the Maritime Provinces. All indicated that they 'read pathology reports on every patient' and 80% read reports to patients. It was also reported that patients increasingly request hard copies of their pathology reports (50% of physicians answered 'sometimes'). A need for improvement was acknowledged in the following areas: perceived extraneous information in reports/length of reports (40%), unfamiliar medical jargon (17%), and readability/formatting (20%). Most agreed that surgical pathology reports helped guide their medical management. There were no significant differences in report utilization among physicians stratified by community size or age (≤45, >45). Conclusions: Family physicians play an important role in disseminating information in surgical pathology reports. Use of jargon and perceived unnecessary information can hinder communication. We need to bear in mind the varied readership of our work and the increasing medical literacy of patients when crafting reports.
- Publication
Canadian Journal of Pathology, 2016, Vol 8, Issue 3, p62
- ISSN
1918-915X
- Publication type
Article