Measuring Radiology's Impact: Core Concepts for Tracking Patient-Oriented Outcomes and Delivering High-Value Care-A...

Area of Science:

• Radiology
• Medical Imaging
• Health Informatics

Background:

• Radiologists' role in high-value patient care is often underappreciated.
• Measuring the impact of radiology on patient outcomes has been challenging.
• The American College of Radiology established a committee to address this gap.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a framework for measuring the impact of radiology on patient care.
• To define key concepts for assessing radiologists' contributions to high-value care.
• To provide a roadmap for implementing impact measurement in healthcare systems.

Main Methods:

• Proposed foundational concepts: diagnostic imaging provenance and relevance.
• Developed the medical imaging life cycle framework.
• Explored the application of data science, EHR-driven analyses, and generative AI.

Main Results:

• The medical imaging life cycle framework offers a patient-centric feedback loop.
• Diagnostic imaging provenance and relevance are key to understanding radiology's impact.
• Data science advances facilitate tracking imaging's link to patient outcomes.

Conclusions:

• A framework for measuring radiology's impact is proposed, focusing on provenance and relevance.
• Operationalizing this framework can enhance recognition of radiologists as agents of high-value care.
• Linking imaging to outcomes through data science is crucial for modern healthcare.