Time spent by breast imaging radiologists to perform value-added activities at an academic cancer center

Abstract

Background: Health care reform in the United States has generated a paradigm shift in the practice of radiology aimed at increasing the degree of patient-centered care. We conducted a study to quantify the amount of time breast imaging radiologists spend on value-added activities at an academic comprehensive cancer center located in Miami, Florida, and accredited by the American College of Radiology as a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence. Methods: A prospective, observational study was conducted during a period of 20 consecutive workdays. Three participating breast imaging radiologists maintained a real-time log of each activity performed. A generalized linear model was used to perform a 1-way analysis of variance. An α level of.05 was used to determine statistical significance. Results: The average daily time dedicated to these activities was 92.1 minutes (range, 56.4–132.2). The amount of time significantly differed among breast imaging radiologists and correlated with their assigned daily role (P