This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by GOUGH-PALMER, A L Articles by GEDROYC, W M Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by GOUGH-PALMER, A L Articles by GEDROYC, W M

Open access to MRI for general practitioners: 12 years' experience at one institution — a retrospective analysis

MRI Department, St Mary's Hospital, Imperial Healthcare NHS trust, London, UK

Correspondence: Antony Gough-Palmer, MRI Department, St Mary's Hospital, Imperial Healthcare NHS trust, Praed Street, London W2 1NY, UK. E-mail: antony.gough-palmer{at}csc.mrc.ac.uk

The aim of this study was to evaluate 12 years of general practitioner (GP) use of open access MRI services at a single London teaching hospital. A retrospective analysis of reports from all GP requests for MRI scans between 1994 and 2005 was performed. The date, scanned body part, and requester details from 1798 scans requested by 209 individual GPs over a continuous 12-year period were recorded. All scans were then graded into four categories based on the severity of reported findings from normal to gross abnormality. Over the study period, GP requests as a percentage of the total (MRI) department workload remained low at 2.6%. Spine, knee and brain requests constituted 86% (n = 1546) of requested scans. 48% (n = 868) of scans were reported as normal or minor degenerative changes only. 26% (n = 466) of scans demonstrated serious pathology that was likely to warrant hospital consultant referral. There was a wide range of scans requested per requester, from 1 to 240 over the period, with an average of 8.5 scans per GP. In conclusion, any department wishing to set up open access to MRI services for GPs could cover the majority of requests by offering spine, knee and brain imaging. The percentage of normal report rates for GP requests is comparable with previous studies of outpatient referrals. A large variation in requesting patterns between GPs suggests the need for increased communication between GPs and imaging departments to optimise use of the service.