Entry Details

About the Entry

Category: 
All Content > Case Study > Mid Atlantic

Title of entry: 
Following Patients Through Incidental Findings

Issue or Publication date:
December 1, 2023

Publication name: 
ACR Bulletin

Publishing/parent company: 
American College of Radiology

View Website home page:
https://www.acr.org/

Description of the enterprising work that went into this entry and its significance or impact on readers:

Founded in 1923, the American College of Radiology is at the forefront of radiology evolution, representing more than 41,000 diagnostic and interventional radiologists, radiation oncologists, nuclear medicine physicians and medical physicists. Through the content of the ACR Bulletin and other publications and programs, the ACR’s mission is to serve as the voice of our members, empowering them to serve patients by advancing the practice of radiological care.

Starting in August 2023, the ACR Bulletin began publishing its content exclusively online. This negated the space limitations of the previous print magazine, opening the door to long-form feature writing that dives deep into stories of how radiologists are advancing patient care—and this case study about Hudson Valley Radiologists (HVR) is a prime example of this in-depth storytelling in action.

The enterprising work that went into this case study spanned several months and multiple Zoom interviews with various members of the HVR team who participated in the ACR Learning Network quality improvement collaborative with the goal of bringing more patients back for potentially life-saving follow-up imaging. Throughout the course of this project, I had several conversations and follow-up calls with HVR’s president, chief operating officer, director of clinical operations, chief data officer, and others, who all brought unique perspectives about their particular roles and experiences in HVR’s quality improvement journey.

Unraveling these varied perspectives to weave a clear, compelling case study was a challenging assignment that required extensive research into the ACR Learning Network and other quality improvement initiatives. In fact, in early calls with HVR, we discussed several different quality improvement initiatives as possible fodder for this story, and we developed this specific focus on imaging follow-up improvement through several pointed discussions over time. Ultimately, this case study profiles HVR’s involvement in the Learning Network while also detailing the process they developed through the collaborative to tackle this particular issue—ultimately boosting their follow-up rate from 20% to more than 90%, potentially saving many lives by detecting lung cancer early enough to treat it.

The resulting case study details the steps that other radiology practices can follow to drive similar quality improvement initiatives, while inspiring radiologists to participate in future Learning Network collaboratives to experience this transformational process for themselves.

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https://www.acr.org/Practice-Management-Quality-Informatics/ACR-Bulletin/Articles/December-2023/Following-Patients-Through-Incidental-Findings