This month the Journal of the American College of Radiology features an outstanding article describing barriers to lung cancer screening in the context of behavioral economics. This article offers a nice complementary perspective to Porter’s Five Forces where lung cancer screening barriers are analyzed using an industrial economic model.

The pictured ACR Lung-RADS matrix is deceiving in its simplicity.  This graphic represents decades of research, advocacy, and hard work from ACR members, staff, government, and academic partners. In my experience, most radiologists focus on the column labeled “Management”. However, few customers, either internal or external, appreciate the weight behind the management recommendations. Their attention, understandably so, tends to focus on the immediate desire to determine malignancy. Radiologists may do well to adopt a patient centered perspective and shift their focus to the column labeled “Probability of Malignancy”. After all, this information speaks to the underlying clinical concern.

Prediction and decision making is fraught with errors; breaking down future management into probabilities is the best way to combat errors and biases. Equipped with the probability information, customers are able to make the most informed decision about future management, thus combating the biases identified in the JACR article. Patients with a high deductible health plan can make rational decisions about when to schedule their next screening exam, if at all. Incorporating the probability information into a standardized Lung-RADS template requires no additional work for the radiologist after a one-time IT investment.

Shared decision making and patient centered care are important concepts changing the landscape of medicine. By increasing patient engagement, we expect better compliance and outcomes. Most customers do not expect radiology participation in this effort yet engagement with a radiologist has a unique power to impact patient experience. By delivering a more patient centered approach to lung cancer screening, we can impress our customers with the unexpected value of our expertise. Delivering probability information to our customers can enhance the value of radiology, rational acceptance of collective management recommendations, and improved morbidity and mortality.