Radiology Partners proposes best practices for acute stroke care

Imaging giant Radiology Partners published a document Tuesday detailing some of its Clinical Value Team’s best practices for acute stroke care.

El Segundo, California-based RP said the recommendations are derived from current guidelines and the “extensive expertise” of its neuroradiology division. It details reporting and interpretation “pearls” for physicians across different exam types, including head and neck CT angiography, stroke head CT, and brain MRI/MRA.

Vivek Bansal, MD, said RP hopes to use its scale—which includes 3,300 radiologists working across 3,250 sites and interpreting 53 million exams annually—to “implement meaningful change for our patients.”

“We are collaborating to create a true best practice paradigm that includes sharing ideas and helping all practices deliver subspecialty-level care,” Bansal, who leads a five-radiologist advisory board within the division, said in an Aug. 29 blog post. “To respect the autonomy of individual local practices, our team is working to create clinical pathways RP practices can utilize as desired to help achieve clinical goals and elevate their stroke care.”

The document also details operational insights for technologists and other members of the stroke team, and offers checklists for both nurses and technologists.

Radiology Partners bills itself as the largest imaging group in the country. Physicians own  about 33% of RP, with private equity firm Whistler Capital venture capital group New Enterprise Associates and the Australian sovereign wealth Future Fund holding the balance.

You can read the stroke recommendations in full here.