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Why is poor follow-up for actionable findings such a major problem in radiology? 🔵 radloop®'s Matthew (Matt) Friedland recently had a conversation with the Director of Risk Management/Claims, Compliance, and Physician Recruiting at Lake Medical Imaging, Josh Floyd PhD, MSCM, CPHRM, about the landscape of actionable findings in radiology. Here is the first of more clips to come! 📹 ✅ This is an overview of the underappreciated problem of poor follow-up for actionable findings in radiology reports. Identifying a key finding is only the first step in a care coordination process that hopefully ends with appropriate and timely follow-up care. But as we all know, that does not always happen... Reference - prevalence of Incidental Findings in CT scans: https://lnkd.in/gRKzksUi Disclosure: Lake Medical Imaging is a radloop® client. #radiology #ai #nlp #actionablefindings #qualityofcare #patientcare #medicine #digitalhealth #legalcompliance

🙋♂️ How often have you seen incidental coronary calcium or lung nodules on a CT scan that is ordered for something else? 🤒 Following these findings plays a major role in diagnosing preclinical disease. 🤖 Using AI-based screenings for these findings is a great decision for both patient care and financial sustainability. 🗣️ "...opportunistic screening algorithms will likely offer health systems a new way to not only better serve patients by catching diseases earlier when they are easier to treat or prevent, but also serve as an entry point for additional testing and treatments without large amounts of time or investment to create new screening programs." - Radiology Business article by Dave Fornell https://lnkd.in/gMkDpyGY

Happy 4th of July from Radloop! 🇺🇸🎇🎆

Completing recommended cancer screenings is crucial to public health. Catching disease early can lead to early intervention and improved outcomes. This study from JAMA Network Open (written up in Health Imaging) investigated a multi-faceted electronic health record intervention for Lung Cancer Screening. The improvement in closing the gap on missing lung cancer screening for this study shows the potential for our better use of technology to improve patients' lives and help them complete their cancer screenings. Authors: Polina Kukhareva, PhD, MPH, FAMIA, Haojia Li MS, Tanner Caverly MD, MPH, et al. 🔗 Link: https://lnkd.in/gTmJFdJi

🔵 "Radiologists are at a clear disadvantage in Medicare's MIPS program." 🔵 As we've learned, there are not enough measures to allow radiologists to succeed in the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) as it currently exists. It is very difficult for radiologists to avoid a negative payment adjustment. This new paper highlights the need to expand radiology-specific measures. 📝 Excerpt from Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute Paper: "In 2021, there were only 9 available MIPS measures for diagnostic radiology versus 65 in family medicine. Physicians in radiology-only practices scored “significantly lower” in MIPS when compared to others working in doc groups where rads were not the predominant specialty." 🔗 Link: https://lnkd.in/d9SeZxYd Paper Authors: YoonKyung Chung, PhD, Lauren Nicola, MD, Chi-Mei Liu, Ph.D., MBA, MA, Elizabeth Rula, PhD

🔵 "Radiologists are at a clear disadvantage in Medicare's MIPS program." 🔵 As we've learned, there are not enough measures to allow radiologists to succeed in the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) as it currently exists. It is very difficult for radiologists to avoid a negative payment adjustment. This new paper highlights the need to expand radiology-specific measures. 📝 Excerpt from Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute Paper: "In 2021, there were only 9 available MIPS measures for diagnostic radiology versus 65 in family medicine. Physicians in radiology-only practices scored “significantly lower” in MIPS when compared to others working in doc groups where rads were not the predominant specialty." 🔗 Link: https://lnkd.in/d9SeZxYd Paper Authors: YoonKyung Chung, PhD, Lauren Nicola, MD, Chi-Mei Liu, Ph.D., MBA, MA, Elizabeth Rula, PhD

Chest CTs can reveal incidentally positive coronary calcium. This is a potential opportunity for incidental screenings in radiology to help patients understand their risk for cardiovascular disease. Patients can then be directed to the proper therapy/interventions to reduce their future risk. This 'untapped' potential could help catch many more people who were previously unaware of their cardiovascular risk. "Across the studies analyzed, between 18% to 77% of patients with incidental coronary artery calcium were not on preventive medications for this concern." Link 🔗: https://lnkd.in/gEPcd8cy

Great article in the Journal of the American College of Radiology about the impact of 'Closed Loop Imaging Programs (CLIP)' at the University of Kansas Medical Center! 👍 They conducted a retrospective review of CT reports at an academic institution from July 2020 to January 2022 to identify reports with recommendations for breast imaging follow-up. 📄 Excerpt: "Actionable CT-detected breast findings require follow-up diagnostic breast imaging due to relevant cancer detection rate of 12.9%. While many patients return for breast imaging without intervention, almost half of patients did not receive follow-up and may represent a significant number of missed cancer diagnoses. Specific CT recommendation verbiage is associated with higher follow-up adherence, which can be addressed across settings even without CLIP programs." ✍️ Authors: Allison Aripoli MD, Madeleine Gurney MD,Rebecca Flynn Sourk RN BSN, et al. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gHpUv9Pp

🏥 Exciting News from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Radiology Business! 📈 Brigham and Women’s follow-up program generated over $6.1 million in revenue from recommended follow-up imaging exams, with $980,628 attributed to the program. Up to 15% of radiology reports require additional examinations, and we know that failing to follow-up can lead to delayed diagnoses and poor patient outcomes. And this study emphasizes the financial viability of follow-up programs. Their program incorporated automated communication, an IT tool to monitor patient progress, and additional staff to oversee the initiative. Khushboo Jhala, MD, MBA, and her colleagues recently conducted a study from 2019 to 2021, revealing that the program generated nearly $1 million in revenue, more than enough to cover its expenses. 🌟 "Healthcare [safety net] programs have the potential to improve patient safety and reduce diagnostic errors and risks associated with missed or delayed follow-up care, particularly among at-risk populations," Jhala and co-authors concluded. Furthermore, Brigham established a safety-net team to address gaps, manually reviewing electronic health records and contacting providers when alerts are left unacknowledged. 📊 CT, MRI, and PET/CT generated higher revenue than other non-cross-sectional ones, with shorter recommendation timeframes. This innovative program not only generates revenue but also enhances patient care and safety by ensuring timely follow-up imaging. It's a win-win for healthcare institutions facing financial constraints. Read more about this groundbreaking research here: [https://lnkd.in/gUAPC9bK] #Healthcare #Radiology #Innovation #PatientCare #BrighamAndWomensHospital #MedicalAdvancements

Happy Holidays from the radloop® team! We know how special it is to spend time with loved ones during the holiday season. Enjoy your time together, and we'll see you in 2024! (Image created by DALL-E Open Ai)