Question

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO HAVE A QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PLAN IN RADIOLOGY?

Answer 1

A quality improvement plan can facilitate continuous improvement in performance, safety and outcomes in the radiology department. Many of the quality improvement efforts are now mandated by regulatory organizations. For example, radiologists need to actively participate in a Practice Quality Improvement projects that are approved by the American Board of Radiology to meet Maintenance of Certification requirements. Beyond these requirements, however, practicing effective, safe and value-added radiology is a common goal for most practices, and radiology departments need to continually strive to improve their performance in order to stay competitive in the rapidly changing environment of healthcare. This is why a Quality Improvement plan is a must in radiology.

All members of a radiology department should be familiar with the basicmethodology and tools of quality improvement plan to achieve this goal and must be actively involved in helping achieve it.  Quality improvement plan acts as an umbrella term that includes (a) quality assurance programs for continuous quality improvement; (b) processes to improve patient and staff safety; and (c) procedures to improve the technical, clinical, and diagnostic performance of all the staff. A quality improvement plan is the science of process management. Quality improvement is intended for use by healthcare teams, individuals, or healthcare systems in order to improve the care delivered to patients. Quality improvement plays multiple roles in radiology services, including improving and ensuring patient safety, providing a framework for improving and implementing processes to reduce waste and increase efficiency, analyzing and depicting performance data, enabling personnel equipment and development through continued education, monitoring performance and implementing change and optimizing customer service and patient outcomes. The quality improvement approaches and its underlying principles overlap as that they all align with good patient care. The application of these principles to radiology practices not only benefit the patients but also enhances practice performance through achievement of goals and promotion of teamwork.