Doesn't most of the stuff a radiologist does get double checked anyways by the doctor that orders the scan in the first place? I guess not a more typical screening scan like a mammogram. However, for anything else like a CT, MRI, Xray, etc. I expect the doctor/NP that ordered it in the first place will want to take a look at the image itself and not just the report on the image.
A primary physician (or NP) isn't in a position to validate the judgement of a specialist. Even if they had the training and skill (doubtful), responsibility goes up, not down. It's all a question of who is liable when things go wrong.
As an ER doc I look at a lot of my own studies, because I'm often using my interpretation to guide real-time management (making decisions that can't wait for a radiologist). I've gotten much better over time, and I would speculate that I'm one of the better doctors in my small hospital at reading my own X-rays, CTs, and ultrasounds.
I am nowhere near as good as our worst radiologist (who is, frankly... not great). It's not even close.
As a working diagnostic radiologist in a busy private practice serving several hospitals, this has been my experience as well.
We have some excellent ER physicians, and several who are very good at looking at their own xrays. They also have the benefit of directly examining the patient, "it hurts HERE", while I am in my basement. Several times a year they catch something I miss!
But when it comes to the hard stuff, and particularly cross-sectional imaging, they are simply not trained for it.
I’m fascinated. What makes a great radiologist so much better than the average?
Calling the edge cases correctly, I would think.
I hurt my arm a while back and the ER guy didn't spot the radial head fracture, but the specialist did. No big deal since the treatment was the same either way.
Im not the OP and I’m an MR tech.
I rate techs against non-radiology trained physicians in terms of identifying pathology. However techs aren’t anywhere near the ability of a radiologist.
Persuading junior techs not to scan each other and decide the diagnosis is a reoccurring problem, and it comes up too often.
These techs are trained and are good. I have too many stories about things techs have missed which a radiologist has immediately spotted.
You're specifically trained to look at the scans, and not to do 75 other things as well, only to use scans to aid your whatever you're doing.
Not meaningfully. Beyond basics like a large tumor, a bone break, etc, there’s alot too it.
my pcp doesn’t even have the tools to view an mri even though part of a hospital system.
That’s an issue with that practice. I had the tools to view MRIs in my laptop.
that’s heartening. do you believe the average pcp is competent to review an mri and act on it given the specialist’s report?
also note the hospital system is extremely paranoid about data management and probably wouldn’t allow a pcp to have mri data on a laptop. even specialists seem to only review mri on hospital desktops.