Quality

The focus of quality improvement in healthcare is to bolster performance and processes related to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Leaders in this space also ensure the proper selection of imaging exams and procedures, and monitor the safety of services, among other duties. Reimbursement programs such as the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) utilize financial incentives to improve quality. This also includes setting and maintaining care quality initiatives, such as the requirements set by the Joint Commission.

Covera Health to vet prostate MRI providers for ‘Radiology Centers of Excellence’
The startup has partnered with employers such as Walmart, providers and health plans (including BCBS Michigan) to steer patients to top imaging centers.
Sterile, temperature-controlled preservation reduces long-term mortality after heart transplant by 54%
An advanced preservation system from Paragonix, a Getinge company, was linked to dramatic reductions in both mortality and procedural complications.
American College of Radiology updates imaging appropriateness criteria with 11 new topics
For the first time, the ACR Appropriateness Criteria is providing guidance covering staging and follow-up of leukemia, the college said Tuesday.
Enhancing STAT radiology exam order efficiency to reduce turnaround time
Raj Kedar, MD, chief of radiology at Tampa General Hospital, spoke on how to reduce the number of STAT imaging exams and inappropriate exams via staff education and additional questions of orders.
5 EHR-based strategies to reduce CT turnaround times
Simple practice changes have helped Denver Health cut the time from exam order placement to initiation by about 47%.

time is brain stroke care hour glass clock turnaround

AI triage system fails to improve radiologist performance or turnaround times

Commercially available software for intracranial hemorrhage detection did not appear to hold up in a prospective, single-center study, experts write in the American Journal of Roentgenology.

UnitedHealthcare releases details on new ‘gold card’ program impacting over 100 radiology CPT codes

One physician criticized UHC's effort to reduce the burden of prior authorization, calling it a "good PR project."

White patients undergo higher rates of diagnostic imaging in the ED than their black counterparts

Previous studies have demonstrated that imaging overuse is pervasive in the ED, with “defensive medicine” a common reason, experts wrote in JAMA Network Open.

'Critical' oversight of 7 factors increases contrast waste

Since the onset of the iodinated contrast shortage in 2022, countless tactics have been deployed to optimize use of the imaging agent, but many have been overlooked.

5 solutions for addressing errors in diagnostic radiology

Omer A. Awan, MD, and colleagues detailed their advice in an Educational Perspective piece published Aug. 17 by Academic Radiology.

6 success factors for reducing low-value medical imaging

Norway has worked to address unnecessary imaging in its public healthcare system, sharing lessons learned in the journal Current Problems in Diagnostic Radiology

Clinical decision support significantly reduces volume of CT pulmonary angiogram requests

That’s according to a new analysis from Boston-based researchers, published in the Journal of the American College of Radiology.

physician tracking patient data and reporting on outcomes

Cardiology groups introduce new performance, quality measures for heart failure

The American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association and Heart Failure Society of America worked together on the updated document, adding three new performance measures and six new quality measures. They did not remove a single recommendation from the previous document published in 2020.

Quality

Covera Health to vet prostate MRI providers for ‘Radiology Centers of Excellence’

Sterile, temperature-controlled preservation reduces long-term mortality after heart transplant by 54%

American College of Radiology updates imaging appropriateness criteria with 11 new topics

Enhancing STAT radiology exam order efficiency to reduce turnaround time

5 EHR-based strategies to reduce CT turnaround times