Congress:
EuroSafe Imaging 2017
Keywords:
Computer Applications-General, RIS, eHealth, Action 1 - Guidelines, implementation policies, and Clinical Decision Support (ESR iGuide), Action 1 - Clinical decision support, clinical imaging guidelines, Education and training
Authors:
L. Donoso, B. Brkljacic
DOI:
10.1594/esi2017/ESI-0023
Background/Introduction
At the European Congress of Radiology (ECR) 2015,
the European Society of Radiology (ESR) introduced the clinical decision support (CDS) system ESR iGuide,
developed in cooperation with the software firm National Decision Support Company (NDSC).
ESR iGuide uses imaging referral guidelines based developed by the ESR based on the American College of Radiology Appropriateness Criteria (ACR AC).
Having advocated CDS as a tool to increase the use of imaging referral guidelines and make imaging utilisation in Europe more appropriate,
the development of ESR iGuide represents an important milestone in the ESR’s efforts to improve quality and safety in radiology.
In the context of the implementation of the revised Euratom Basic Safety Standards Directive,
the ESR iGuide initiative comes at the right time,
and offers healthcare providers a tool to address challenges in providing appropriate radiology services in differing national settings.
Following the upload of the first version of the ESR's referral guidelines into ESR iGuide in February 2016,
the ESR set up a Working Group on Imaging Referral Guidelines under the umbrella of its Quality,
Safety and Standards Committee at ECR 2016 to maintain and update ESR iGuide content.
This was followed by the establishment of a Joint Rapid Response Committee (RRC) with the ACR in May to facilitate the cooperation between ACR and ESR,
making the review processes even more robust,
and providing a wider range of user experiences from both sides of the Atlantic.
Over the course of the past year,
NDSC,
after having established its European headquarters in Vienna in late 2015,
started with pilot implementations of ESR iGuide in Europe.
As of December 2016,
five hospitals in Croatia are live and installations are under way in Germany,
Ireland,
Sweden,
Qatar and Russia,
with sites in a number of other countries scheduled to follow in 2017.
Supported by NDSC's US team,
with the experience of well over 100 ACR Select implementations in the United States,
NDSC Europe is charged with ensuring the ESR’s guidelines are delivered to European healthcare providers effectively and efficiently.