Radiologist Digital Workspace Use and Preference: a Survey-Based Study

Literature regarding the heterogeneity of and preferences for radiology workstation design—and, in particular, the digital workspace of the radiology workstation—is scant. The purpose of this study was to determine the nature of the digital environments across the specialty and the degree of satisfaction users associated with the particular facets of those environments. A survey was sent to the membership of the Association of University Radiologists in February 2015. The survey comprised 10 questions establishing demographics, current typical workstation setup, perceived satisfaction with that setup, and preferences for potential altered setups. A total of 336 radiologists responded, with a cross-section similar to that described in the 2015 ACR annual workforce survey (1). Although there was a rough split in the number of radiologists using one or two non-diagnostic monitors (46 vs. 51%, respectively), the strong majority (75%) of radiologists use two diagnostic monitors. Users of two non-diagnostic monitors were more likely to keep open the case info (87 vs. 68%) and EMR (84 vs 68%). More senior radiologists tended to find the current setup easy more frequent than younger radiologists, and the latter group was more likely to believe additional monitors would be helpful. Although many radiologists are comfortable with their computing workflows, a significant number indicate dissatisfaction and may be interested in being able to specify the amount of monitor space with which they can work. Additional monitors may promote improved quality in addition to any potential productivity gains.