CHICAGO – In a new survey of 216 radiologists, nearly 40 percent of participants cited concerns about either the lack of clarity in meaningful use guidelines or decreased efficiency as a result of adopting the guidelines.

The study, "Radiologists' Take on Meaningful Use: a KLAS-RSNA Report," features feedback from a cross section of radiologists across the nation as well as from private practice, hospital-based practice, and academic centers.

In the first report of its kind, KLAS and RSNA teamed up to uncover radiologists' major concerns regarding meaningful use and what types of guidelines they felt would be beneficial to the practice of radiology. KLAS released the findings Sunday at RSNA's annual meeign in Chicago.

The study shows 60 percent of surveyed radiologists either plan to or are considering qualifying for meaningful use, and 25 percent say they are very involved in making decisions regarding meaningful use. However, only 6 percent considered themselves to be educated regarding meaningful use.

"These numbers should be a wakeup call for the radiology industry,” said Emily Crane, KLAS research director and author of the report.

Most radiologists are eligible providers, Crane notes. That means if they were to meet meaningful use criteria by the deadline, they would be eligible for some or all of the $44,000 incentive. In addition, those who do not meet the criteria by 2015 will be hit with penalties.

"Getting educated and involved with meaningful use can't wait,” Crane says.

Some radiologists are concerned that the current guidelines do not take radiology into consideration, and so as a part of the survey, participants indicated what they felt would be beneficial to radiology. Overall, radiologists who responded to the survey felt that clinical decision support (CDS) was important, especially for referring physicians, and saw this as a means to ensure that the correct imaging test is ordered. CDS is also seen as a way to reduce the amount of unnecessary and costly imaging.

On the other hand, radiologists indicated that radiation dose tracking and patient engagement were the least beneficial criteria.

In followup interviews, radiologists indicated that while they agree patients have a right to their images and reports, there was no apparent medical benefit or necessity for them to have electronic access.

"We hope that this feedback from radiologists can serve as a guide for the Office of the National Coordinator for HIT and those in Washington who are currently addressing Stage 2 and Stage 3 guidelines," Crane said. "Radiologists would like guidelines that are more appropriate for their practice of radiology."

In addition to the questions formulated by RSNA, KLAS asked questions regarding vendor preparedness to help providers as they work to qualify for meaningful use. Looking at RIS and PACS vendors KLAS found that, on average, 25 percent of respondents felt their vendor was not prepared to help them meet meaningful use requirements. The bottom line is radiologists need to be proactive in talking to their vendors about meaningful use plans, Crane concluded.