Quality Program

Quality Improvement efforts here in the UVA Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging facilitate con­tinuous improvement in safety, performance, and outcomes in our department and will be aligned with the mandates of regulatory organizations. For example, Radiologists must actively participate in a Practice Quality Improve­ment project approved by the American Board of Radiology to meet ongoing Maintenance of Certification requirements . Beyond these requirements, however, practicing safe, effective, value-added radiology is a common goal for our department as we con­tinually strive to improve our performance to perpetuate the highest quality of patient care and stay competitive in this rapidly changing health­care environment.

Quality improvement is an umbrella term that includes (a) quality assurance programs for continuous improvement in quality; (b) pro­cesses to improve staff and patient safety; and (c) procedures to improve the clinical, techni­cal, and diagnostic performance of all staff. Quality Improvement is intended for use by individuals, healthcare teams, and healthcare systems to improve the care delivered to patients. In our Department, the focus of Quality Improvement is to improve the perfor­mance of and processes related to Diagnostic and Therapeutic Procedures, the selection of Imaging and Procedural Services, the Quality and Safety of Healthcare delivered, and the Effectiveness and Management of all Imaging Services.

The Quality Program for the UVA Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging will encompass many aspects of an extensive Quality Initiative, both institutional and national in scope. The following “Word Salad” and the understanding of these terms will be critical to perpetuating this initiative and providing the platform for continued quality and patient care improvement. These terms will be utilized frequently in future correspondence as we delineate and develop our Quality Program.

 

Mark Golub, MD
Departmental Quality Officer