An ACR-led initiative recently addressed the issue of incompetence radiologist and recommended follow-up care after accidentally diagnosed diagnosis. The proposed measures were recently published in the Journal of the American College of Radiology.
“Care gaps occur when radiology follow-up recommendations are poorly addressed or incomplete, leading to misdiagnosis or delays that can lead to serious patient outcomes,” co-author Nadja Kadom, MD, Director, Radiology Quality, Department of Medicine, and Child Care. of Atlanta, and co-authors wrote.
To address this issue a specialist panel of experts (TEP) was formed to advise quality measures that would improve communication between providers and patients and thus increase the standards for completing follow-up care. The measures are designed to serve as a guide for the process of developing their own communication systems and ways to improve post-accident follow-up that can be acted upon by radiologists.
The foundation for the ACR-led program is based on nine steps — four on outcomes and five on processes.
Suggested outcome measures include the need to close the communication loop upon completion of possible risk assessment recommendations (AIFs), with specific guidance regarding the diagnosis of abdominal aortic aneurysm and pulmonary tumors, in addition to imaging follow-up and monitoring recommendations in cases of acquisition. For each of these steps, a successful follow-up was defined as the completion of the recommended image within 30 days before and 60 days after the recommended follow-up period.
“This initiative serves the main purpose of the initiative, to assess the percentage of patients with at least one AIF who received follow-up images during the recommended period,” the authors explained.
The procedural steps included closed communication procedures between patients, radiologists and referral providers in charge of ongoing patient care. A tracking system that incorporates reminders and deadlines was also included in the process estimates.
“This center- and rating scale assesses the percentage of final reports containing AIFs and recommendations for image tracking when the findings are passed on to the patient.”
The authors noted the timely arrival of the proposed measures, referring to the CMS prioritization of patient outcomes. Additionally, the measures, which can be applied to a variety of practices as needed, can help close patient safety gaps and provide more insight into proper and timely management of autoimmune findings, experts suggest.
