Teaching the Healthcare Economics Milestones to Radiology Residents: Our Pilot Curriculum Experience

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Health Economics
• Radiology

Background:

• Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) mandates educational milestones for radiology residents.
• The healthcare economics subcompetency requires focused attention due to increased ACGME oversight.
• Traditional radiology education has underemphasized healthcare economics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a multi-institutional pilot curriculum for healthcare economics in radiology residency.
• To address the ACGME's Systems-based Practice milestone, specifically healthcare economics.
• To assess resident and faculty reception of the pilot curriculum.

Main Methods:

• A multi-institutional pilot curriculum combined didactic online modules and practical, local application.
• Didactic content was sourced from the American College of Radiology's (ACR) Radiology Leadership Institute.
• Practical components included local meetings, research on reimbursement for noncontrast head CT, and a capstone teleconference presentation.

Main Results:

• The pilot curriculum was positively received by both residents and faculty moderators.
• 100% of survey respondents agreed the curriculum met its objective of explaining radiology reimbursement and business terminology.
• The curriculum successfully introduced participants to healthcare economics in American radiology in 2015.

Conclusions:

• A Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)-style healthcare economics curriculum is a viable option for residency programs.
• This approach can effectively help programs meet ACGME healthcare economics milestones.
• The pilot demonstrates a successful model for delivering essential business education to radiology residents.