WITHDRAWN: PPP calls out U Penn on article claiming RAs outperformed radiology residents

Efforts to replace physicians are occurring not only in corporations but in academia. The University of Pennsylvania's radiology department seems to have a particular interest in replacing radiologists with lesser-trained 'radiology extenders,' and in 2020, published a study claiming that these assistants outperformed radiology residents in interpreting chest x-rays. (While the article insisted that there were no differences in errors, radiology assistants significantly misread 6 films, including 3 potentially dangerous errors, while radiology residents misread 1 film, not dangerously)

PPP identified numerous problems with the study, including the ethics of using residents without formal IRB review. We sent a letter to the University of Pennsylvania's Vice-Provost for Research expressing our concern. While denying any wrongdoing in research methodology, the authors did choose to withdraw the article.

PPP Board member and radiologist Phil Shaffer MD and radiologist Sharon D'Souza MD MPH discuss the details of the article and its withdrawal.

[hillthekhore]

Holy effing hell. This is extremely embarrassing for UPenn and for this journal. The study was not only flawed because of its ethics but also because it makes no sense to compare residents in training and techs in this way. The point of trainees is to create physicians that can practice independently with a high level of competence, not to save money for an organization. And if a study is being overread by an attending, who cares about the accuracy of trainees vs. techs in this context?

[detectiveawesome]

It’s radiologist assistants not radiology assistants, which would be a tech aid.