Qualitative Study to Understand Ordering of CT Angiography to Diagnose Pulmonary Embolism in the Emergency Room Setting

EM providers were the main drivers of CTPA ordering, and there was a marginalized role for the radiologist. Experience- and gestalt-based heuristics were the main influencers of CTPA ordering. Our findings suggest that a more nuanced intervention than simply including a d-dimer and a prediction score in each preimaging workup may be necessary to curb overordering of CTPA in patients suspected of PE.