Impact of a 4-year quality improvement initiative to improve communication of critical imaging test results.
Radiology
; 259(3): 802-7, 2011 Jun.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-21467253
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE:
To evaluate the impact of a 4-year initiative to develop, implement, monitor, and reinforce a communication of critical test results policy by using continuous-process improvement methods. MATERIALS ANDMETHODS:
This HIPAA-compliant quality-improvement initiative was performed between February 2006 and January 2010. Institutional review board approval was received with waiver of informed consent for medical record reviews. A critical results policy for radiology was developed that was based on recommendations from the Joint Commission, American College of Radiology, and Massachusetts Coalition for the Prevention of Medical Errors. It defined types of findings (critical or discrepant), urgency level (red, orange, or yellow), timelines for notification, acceptable communication and documentation methods, and a communication escalation process. The primary outcome measure, adherence to the communication of critical results policy, was measured by periodic review of radiology reports with feedback of results to staff radiologists. The χ(2) statistic was used to assess for trends.RESULTS:
During 21 quality reviews, 16,983 of 1,489,951 (1.14%) total radiology reports were reviewed, 1628 (9.6%) of which were assessed to contain critical results according to policy. Adherence to critical results policy increased from 28.6% (12 of 42) in February 2006 to 90.4% (122 of 135) by the end of the study period (P < .001), with most of the gains occurring in the first 2 years.CONCLUSION:
Review and feedback of performance in regard to a policy on communication of critical imaging test results allowed significant improvement and sustained adherence to policy. SUPPLEMENTALMATERIAL:
http//radiology.rsna.org/lookup/suppl/doi10.1148/radiol.11101396/-/DC1.
Texto completo:
1
Bases de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Servicio de Radiología en Hospital
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Diagnóstico por Imagen
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Evaluación de Procesos, Atención de Salud
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Comunicación
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Mejoramiento de la Calidad
Tipo de estudio:
Diagnostic_studies
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Evaluation_studies
Límite:
Humans
País/Región como asunto:
America do norte
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Radiology
Año:
2011
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Estados Unidos