General practitioners' and radiologists' expectations of ankle radiography for chronic complaints - a focus group study.

AIM: To explore general practitioners' and radiologists' expectations of ankle radiography for chronic complaints.

BACKGROUND

Ankle complaints are a frequent reason for general practitioner (GP) consultations and ±20% of ankle radiography requests are for chronic complaints. It is unknown what GPs and radiologists expect from ankle radiography for chronic complaints.

METHODS

A qualitative study was conducted with GPs and radiologists. Semi-structured focus group discussions were held online or live until data saturation was reached. The topic guide included: reasons for radiography, content of requests and reports, and the impact of results on patient management. The recorded interviews were transcribed and subsequently coded inductively in Max-QDA.

FINDINGS: Five focus groups with 24 GPs and 3 focus groups with 11 radiologists were held. Radiologists focussed more on urgent diagnoses that were less considered by GPs for their rareness. GPs indicated to request ankle radiography more often for patient-, physician-related and organizational reasons than for medical indications. Radiologists expect requests to include a specific question accompanied by applicable clinical information including a specific pain location. GPs in their turn expect a short conclusion of the report answering their question.

CONCLUSIONS

GPs and radiologists have different expectations of radiography for chronic ankle complaints. Important in GPs' rationale behind requesting ankle radiography for chronic complaints are non-medical factors and prevalence of ankle disorders, while radiologists also focus on more rare diagnoses than GPs. More research on the added value and accuracy of ankle radiography for chronic complaints in primary care settings is necessary.