Purpose: Although there have been many publications on composing an accurate radiological report, they usually do not include an assessment of the clinicians' expectations from a radiological report. In this study, we aimed to assess the clinicians' expectations and preferences in terms of radiology report style and content.
Materials and methods: A multiple-choice questionnaire, containing 19 questions, was formed. Two-hundreds clinicians, working either in a university hospital or a public hospital, were allocated into 4 groups which included equal number of clinicians from surgery and internal medicine departments. Questionnaire was applied to participants by face-to-face interview. Results were analyzed for each group using Pearson chi-square test.
Results: No statistically significant difference was found among four groups except for the 16th question which was about the image format pertaining to the report (CD/DVD or negative film). It has been determined that clinicians preferred detailed, standardized radiological reports with complete sections (i.e., clinical information, technique, findings, conclusion, recommendations).
Conclusion: This study provided essential data for radiologists to write more effective reports.