Introduction Errors are innate in every field of medicine and persist despite the best efforts of medical professionals to be (or become) flawless. In fact, the prevalence of errors by radiologists (i.e., the radiology error rate) has been remarkably constant…
Introduction Radiology reports are instrumental in decisions about patient management in most medical specialties. Clear communication requires written reports to be accurate, concise, and unambiguous. Constructing a quality report constitutes a critical, although often neglected, component of radiologists’ training and…
Principles of Medical Professionalism and the Physician Charter As societal norms have transformed and continued to evolve, physicians and other clinicians have faced significant legal, moral, and ethical quandaries that have influenced the practice of medicine. Although the development of…
Introduction The Institute of Medicine highlighted the essential role of patient-centered care by including it as one of the committee’s six specific aims for improving healthcare in Crossing the Quality Chasm (2001). In this report, patient-centered healthcare is defined as…
Introduction Over the past 2 decades, evidence-based medicine has become a dominant paradigm for understanding best practices in medicine. Simply put, evidence-based medicine is the explicit incorporation of the best research evidence into the care decision-making process. More formally, evidence-based…
Introduction Quality assurance, quality improvement, and total quality Management initiatives and programs have been used, to different degrees, in business, management, and healthcare settings for decades now. However, despite the obvious positive impact on all healthcare outcomes, diffusion and integration…
Introduction The Institute of Medicine’s reports, Crossing the Quality Chasm and To Err Is Human , created an awareness within the American healthcare system that change and redesign are necessary to improve patient safety and quality of care. This is…
In recent years there have been several initiatives dedicated to improving radiologic standards of practice. Many of these programs, such as “Image Gently,” “Image Wisely,” “Step Lightly,” and the Dose Index Registry, address growing concerns over patient exposure to high…
Introduction In 2012, the American Board of Radiology (ABR) implemented a new Maintenance of Certification (MOC) process, known as Continuous Certification, for all participating diplomates. Every year on March 15, the ABR looks back at the previous 3 years for…
Safety in radiology is expected by our patients, colleagues, administrators, providers, national organizations, oversight organizations, and the government. It is no longer enough to provide accurate reports of findings on imaging studies. Radiologists and their coworkers in the radiology department…