Disruption of Radiologist Workflow

The effect of disruptions has been studied extensively in surgery and emergency medicine, and a number of solutions—such as preoperative checklists—have been implemented to enforce the integrity of critical safety-related workflows. Disruptions of the highly complex and cognitively demanding workflow of modern clinical radiology have only recently attracted attention as a potential safety hazard. In this article, we describe the variety of disruptions that arise in the reading room environment, review approaches that other specialties have taken to mitigate workflow disruption, and suggest possible solutions for workflow improvement in radiology.