Are patients getting recommended imaging follow-up?

Patients who need imaging follow-up but don't get it -- due to health-related social needs obstacles -- require support, according to research presented November 29 at the RSNA meeting. A team from the University of California, Irvine (UCI) explored the prevalence of financial hardship and other health-related social needs among radiology patients using no-shows and canceled radiology appointment data as the foundation of their study, “Patients who either cancel or do not show up to their radiology appointments have been shown to have poorer health outcomes,” said presenter Andrew Cuyegkeng. “The purpose of our study was to measure the prevalence of self-reported financial hardship and health-related social needs among those who miss their radiology appointment.” The team also evaluated factors associated with imaging hardship and nonadherence. Awareness of patients' hardships The study consisted of a survey sent to patients via Google between November 2022 and May 2023. Those with no email were called. All were given a $5 gift card for completing the survey. The team received 280 responses with the mean age of participants 55 years old. A majority were women, and about 55% had commercial insurance, 35% had Medicare, and 7% had Medicaid. In collecting information about health-related social needs, the team divided feedback into three categories: Financial worrying, derived by incorporating a validated measure known as Comprehensive Score for Financial Toxicity (C...
Source: AuntMinnie.com Headlines - Category: Radiology Authors: Tags: Practice Management Source Type: news