Keywords:
eHealth, Artificial Intelligence, Management, MR, CT, CAD, Cost-effectiveness, Audit and standards, Outcomes analysis, Economics, Outcomes, Education and training
Authors:
B. May; Mainz/DE
DOI:
10.26044/ecr2019/C-2083
Aims and objectives
Aims and objectives
Any clinical imaging department is to support the residential treatment of patients and thus impacting the respective cost and quality.
In search of diagnosing the clinical relevant problem of the patient the physician in charge is specifying an order on the imaging department for a radiological exam.
Depending on his training level,
the available information and,
most important,
his capability of systematically conducting a close investigation the order might not be up to standard.
This study shows a failure diversity caused by referring physicians,
ranging from missing patient`s problem to inducing repeated and multiple radiological exams of the same or a different organ with the same or a different modality (diagnostic cascades),
independent of the size and the type of hospital.
In most imaging departments the order is being executed to its requested specifications without prior verification of a trained radiologist.
Therefore,
this study is analyzing the cost-impact of processing unnecessary radiological exams on the extension of the residential treatment and on the additional respective cost.
The effect on quality loss is not being discussed,
it might become important however in the near future.