Enabling the Next-Generation Radiology Report: Description of Two New System Standards

Abstract

Two available standards, the Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) Management of Radiology Report Templates (MRRT) and Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) Part 20, will enable creation of the next generation of radiology reports through the use of structured report data and coding, which can help solve current clinical problems and improve data mining and precision medicine. Currently, most radiology reports are highly variable and consist of unconstrained narrative text. This variability limits the ability to extract information from the report to guide clinical care, populate a data registry, or support quality improvement. This article introduces two newly available standards that pertain to radiology reports. Management of Radiology Reporting Templates (MRRT) is an integration profile that defines the format and exchange mechanisms for radiology report templates. Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine Part 20 defines how reports built using MRRT-based templates can be transmitted into an electronic health record (EHR). Together, these two standards enable new ways to improve report consistency and completeness, ensure proper clinical action, and improve the quality of patient care. Commercial and open-source developers are beginning to incorporate these standards into clinical systems. The authors use an example of a patient with an incidentally detected lung nodu...