Quality Improvement in Radiology: Basic Principles and Tools Required to Achieve Success

Abstract

All imaging departments are expected to establish and maintain effective quality, safety, and performance improvement programs. Essential components of such programs include adherence to the basic principles of quality management and appropriate utilization of quality tools. The initial step is the gathering of relevant information, followed by the collection and analysis of quality and performance data; analysis and ranking of causes that likely contributed to a process failure, error, or adverse event; and prioritization and local implementation of solutions, with careful monitoring of newly implemented processes and wider dissemination of the tools when a process proves to be successful. Quality improvement requires a careful, dedicated, and continuously planned effort by a number of skilled and committed team members, with the goal being to do the right thing in a timely fashion in every case. This process can be sustained by offering rewards and celebrating successes, with all lessons learned disseminated throughout the department or organization.

Reporting Scan Time Reduces Cardiac MR Examination Duration

“…Although quality improvement initiatives typically focus on care improvement, waste reduction is an alternative quality measure [6][7][8][9]. On a clinical CMR imaging service, waste takes the form of added scan time due to extraneous pulse sequences, repetition of sequences not necessary for accurate diagnosis, or any extension of the examination time without added diagnostic value [7].…”

Practical Approaches to Quality Improvement for Radiologists

“…With any quality improvement effort, one should be familiar with and correctly use appropriate graphical tools and approaches because one can manage only that which one can accurately measure (16).…”

Building for Tomorrow Today

“…Among these is a renewed focus on quality improvement (QI), which encompasses encompasses programs/procedures for quality assurance and continuous important, improved patient and staff safety, and improved clinical, technical, and diagnostic performance (33). …”