MDNews - Minnesota

COVER FEATURE Consulting Radiologists, Ltd. "T HIS REPORT WAS created to illustrate our commitment to quality as an organiza- tion," says Scott Sidney, M.D., Musculoskeletal Radiologist and Chief Quality Officer at CRL. "The first benefits of the report were that it highlighted areas where we have strong indicators of quality and gave us a mission for areas of future investigation and improvement." The report offers an in-depth look at the wide range of radiological services provided by CRL and how its performance compares to national and regional aver- ages, as well as benchmarks set by leading professional organizations in each imaging subspecialty field. Peer-review processes are utilized exten- sively in the day-to-day operations of CRL radiologists. Exemplifying the standard of quality engendered by the peer-review process, the "two-tiered approach" means that every preliminary interpretation given by a radiologist — whether it is an after-hours read or a final read in another setting — is double-checked by another set of eyes working the following shift. After a subspecialist in the corresponding field conducts the second read, a score is given to the initial reading, indicating the accuracy of the initial read. Ensuring a Standard of Quality That Exceeds National Standards INTENT ON CLEARLY STATING ITS ONGOING COMMITMENT TO QUALITY, CONSULTING RADIOLOGISTS, LTD. (CRL) RECENTLY PRODUCED ITS "2012 QUALITY REPORT." THIS DOCUMENT, AVAILABLE ON THE CRL WEBSITE AND THROUGH ITS MARKETING AND PRACTICE SUPPORT TEAMS, DEMONSTRATES THE HIGH STANDARDS OF CARE BY WHICH EACH SPECIALIST OPERATES. To ensure a quality standard that exceeds national standards, CRL works with the American College of Radiologists' (ACR's) Peer Review Database. Statistical data from each radiologist and care facility is stored and tracked according to case type, then compared with national averages provided by the ACR. In 2012, CRL forecasts it will surpass 100,000 peer-reviewed cases over the past three years. Statistics show CRL radiologists have met or exceeded the national benchmarks for imaging interpretation. The report shows that for interpretations completed in 2010 and 2011, CRL's rate of agreement exceeded the ACR's national benchmark. CRL's rate of disagreement was shown to be less than the national benchmark. In addition, CRL participates in RADPEER, another process for peer review. "As we enter new territories, as far as how medical services are judged and compensated, it's going to be important to have quality metrics as part of any practice, and that has been a focus of Consulting Radiologists, Ltd. for some time. It makes sense for us to formally state what we do as far as our attention to quality, both our past efforts and our intended future pursuits." — Scott Sidney, M.D., Musculoskeletal Radiologist and Chief Quality Officer at Consulting Radiologists, Ltd.

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