5 ways radiology can assume role of ‘value creator,’ rather than resource drain
As hospitals strive to deliver value-based care, radiology runs the risk of being viewed as a resource drain. But there are several strategies practices can pursue to demonstrate their own value, rather than subtract from it.
That’s according to a new opinion from several prominent imaging institutions, published Friday in JAMA. Radiology must emphasize its myriad contributions to the care team to “avoid being viewed only as a potential source of value loss rather than as a creator of value,” experts advised.
“Short-term expenditures for imaging studies may create long-term and systemwide savings and better outcomes,” Adrian Brady, second VP on the European Society of Radiology’s Board of Directors, and colleagues wrote Sept. 11. “However, in some interpretations of value-based health care, radiology is viewed as a ‘cost,’ an adjunct to quality care, but not a primary contributor to value. This ignores much of the value created by the appropriate practice of radiology, and the importance of radiology in clinical care, when radiologic investigations are used justifiably and without inappropriate duplication or excess.”
To avoid this characterization, Brady—also a radiologist with Mercy University Hospital in Cork, Ireland—and co-authors offered five solutions. In brief, the specialty should strive to:
- Help others understand the breadth of radiology’s contributions to care, including patient management, population benefits and relaying of key information.
- Quantify the specialty’s effect on patient outcomes and quality of life; too much of literature focuses on image acquisition, rather than rads’ societal impact.
- Hold referring physicians accountable for their influence on medical imaging and making sure that resources are used optimally.
- Educate managers of the negative effect of underfunding shared services such as imaging, which results in bottlenecks and delays essential patient care.
- Ensure that the use of imaging services is justified, appropriate and based on the evidence.
“By embracing the principles of value-based healthcare and striving to create value when possible, radiology can contribute to moving from a volume-driven system to a value-driven one, in which as many investigations or interventions as possible contribute positively to patient outcomes,” Brady et al. concluded.
Others contributing to the piece included the American College of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists. You can read the rest of the editorial here.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.