Synth.QA

The Synthesis Health QA/QI program is patient centric and focused on improving patient care and outcomes. Focusing on how interpretation or reporting variances impact patient care provides an opportunity to learn and grow rather than generate excuses.

Peer review plays a crucial role in ensuring the quality and accuracy of radiological interpretations.

Accurate diagnosis and precise imaging findings are of utmost importance. Peer review is a vital mechanism identifying any potential errors, inconsistencies, or missed findings, thus minimizing diagnostic discrepancies and improving patient care.

A review process that is collegial, with an educational focus, fosters a culture of continuous learning and professional growth among radiologists. It encourages constructive feedback, promotes knowledge sharing, and facilitates the exchange of best practices.

Through our peer review program and associated quality improvement process, we collectively strive to uphold the highest standards of accuracy, reliability, and expertise. Our ultimate goal is ensuring the delivery of the highest quality healthcare outcomes for patients.

Peer review plays a crucial role in ensuring the quality and accuracy of radiological interpretations.

The Synthesis Health QA/QI program is an outcomes based, patient-centered program. Our program focuses on enhancing patient care outcomes rather than error rates that emphasize missed findings.

In the Synthesis Health QA/QI program, radiologists collaborate and review cases comprehensively. Within the QI process we consider factors such as interpretation context, patient history, and follow-up recommendations as they impact the interpretation process, report variances and patient outcomes.

The QA process also involves evaluating the clarity and completeness of reports, and considering potential areas for improvement in communicating important positive and negative findings with clinicians and other members of the healthcare team.

The Synthesis Health QA/QI Program Reviews Report Accuracy and Report Quality

By emphasizing patient care in our peer review, our system does not accuse the radiologist of errors or negligence, it simply reports the presence of a variance and whether that variance may or may not be expected to affect patient care.

The Synthesis Health QA/QI Program Promotes Life-long Learning to Improve Interpretation and Reporting

The Synthesis Health QA/QI program focuses on promoting professional development and learning. Coming from the QA process, cases are available for radiologists to use in regular reviews and discussions, case conferences, or other educational activities to expand and sharpen general knowledge and improve diagnostic skills.

Accuracy Evaluation Reviews Cases for Errors and Variances

Accuracy Evaluation

  1. Agree with interpretation.
  2. Interpretation variance – Minor. Unlikely to affect patient care of follow-up.
  3. Interpretation variance – Moderate. Will likely affect patient care and/or require follow-up e.g. gallstones, renal stones or pelvic cysts.
  4. Interpretation variance. Significant., Expected to immediately affect patient care and/or follow-up e.g. appendicitis, intracranial hemorrhage.
  5. Sentinel event. Event that may cause a serious unexpected or unanticipated outcome, death or serious physical or psychological injury, or the risk thereof.

Quality Evaluation Reviews Cases for Clarity and Completeness of Reports

Quality Evaluation

  1. Does the report reach a conclusion, or contain conclusory statements and when applicable include an impression, per ACR guidelines for reporting?
  2. Does the report address the clinical question?
  3. Are the relevant negative and/or positive findings discussed?
  4. Is the report formatted for ease of reading?
  5. Is the report free of serious transcription errors?