Mitigation Tactics Discovered During COVID-19 with Long-Term Report Turnaround Time and Burnout Reduction Benefits.

RATIONALES AND OBJECTIVES: The purpose is to describe a hybrid teleradiology solution utilized in an academic medical center and its outcomes on radiology report turnaround time (RTAT) and physician wellness. MATERIALS AND METHODS: During coronavirus disease 2019, we utilized an alternating teleradiology solution with procedural and education attendings working in the hospital and other faculty remote to keep the worklist clean. RTAT data was collected for remote vs. in house emergency department (ED) and inpatient cases over a 6-month period. Pre and post implementation burnout surveys were administered. RESULTS: RTAT significantly improved for ED and inpatient MR and CT, and inpatient US and radiographs when interpreted remotely compared to in-hospital. Physician wellness scores improved and open-ended comments reflected positive feedback about the hybrid work solution. 74% enjoyed the autonomy and flexibility, and 51% said the solution positively influences my desire to remain in my current institution and improves their clinical and/or academic productivity. CONCLUSION: Hybrid work from home solutions allow faculty autonomy and flexibility with work-life balance, improving wellness. It is important to alternate the at-home faculty to maintain interdepartmental relations, particularly for junior faculty, and prevent isolation. The hybrid solution also demonstrated improved patient care metrics, possibly due to decreased distractions at home compared to the reading room.

Medical Student Elective to Improve Diagnosis in Health Care: Developing Solutions to Reduce Patient Harm.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: At our institution, a new medical student elective was designed and implemented by the department of radiology to teach medical students about diagnostic error. The purpose of this article is to describe the diagnostic error elective structure and implementation, present objective and subjective evaluations of the elective, and provide a model for other radiology departments to run their own electives. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Starting in January 2018, a 2-week in-person career exploration session elective was offered for third year medical students. In 2020 due to the COVID pandemic, the elective was expanded to fourth year medical students. All students were required to complete a project that addressed diagnostic error. Subjective comments were recorded, and objective measurements obtained from student evaluations. RESULTS: A total of 11 sessions were held, consisting of 3 fourth year and 26 third year students. A total of 12 projects (11 groups) were completed, seven of which have been accepted for presentation at national meetings. On a 1 to 5 scale (5 highest), students rated their educational experience at a mean score of 4.61. Subjective comments focused on the benefit of exposure to new topics, mentorship by radiologists, and ability to complete a project in such a short time. CONCLUSION: Diagnostic errors and solutions are vague, new concepts to medical students and even facilitator faculty. This course allowed students to gain awareness of diagnostic error and could easily be replicated at other institutions with interested faculty and medical school support.

Brief communication: A departmental "command center" to facilitate staff safety and patient care during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the initial peak of the COVID-19 crisis, for the approximately 6 weeks beginning on April 8, 2020 and continuing through mid-May 2020, our academic radiology department shifted all nonprocedural operations to a "Command Center" model. This intervention was designed to maximize faculty and resident safety while continuing to provide prompt radiology care to our patients and support to front-line clinicians. During this time most of our radiology faculty and residents worked remotely. The five on-site residents were stationed together in a single large reading room where they worked as generalists, supervised by remote faculty. This room became the hub of all clinical communications. This brief report describes this experience, reviewing what was done and what was learned.