Abstract
Musculoskeletal (MSK) radiologists are predominantly consultants in the service departments
of health care. Unlike the manufacturing industry, quality controls are difficult
to institute in a service industry and more variability is expected. Structured reporting
is a unique way to institute quality standards, and by using the checklist approach
with uniform terminology, it can lead to more homogeneity and consistency of reporting,
concise lexicon use within and across practices, minimization of errors, enhancement
of divisional and departmental branding, improvement of interdisciplinary communications,
and future data mining. We share our experience from more than a decade of structured
reporting in the domain of MSK radiology, our practice standards, and how reporting
has evolved in our MSK practice. Further discussions include future directions aided
by machine learning approaches with augmented reality and the possibility of virtual
fellowship and training using consistent lexicons and structured reporting.
Keywords
structured report - musculoskeletal - narrative - electronic reporting - lexicon
