Teleradiology service completes 10,000 audits
9 March 2010
Teleradiology specialist 4 Ways Healthcare has completed
10,000 audits of its remote radiology service in the UK, assuring the
quality of its advanced medical imaging and diagnostic interpretation
service.
The company offers a medically-led specialist remote diagnostic
service to the NHS, providing specialist teleradiology services to
more than 50 NHS organisations. The company's technology gives
hospitals access to radiology expertise, providing pay-as-you-go
reporting resources to help with the increasing demands placed on
diagnostic radiology.
4 Ways Healthcare has been continually auditing all its work for
the past five years, using experienced NHS consultants with
sub-specialty expertise as independent auditors. The audit team has
been reviewing more than 500 reports each month since 2008.
Dr Richard Preece, Medical Director said: "The most important
aspect of our audit is that we always remember that the purpose is
to promote learning. The audit results are reassuring, but most
important is the sharing of knowledge that the audit encourages.
Discussion of cases between reporting radiologists and auditors is
critical both one-to-one and in regular discrepancy meetings."
Dr Sanjiv Agarwal, CEO of 4 Ways Healthcare, said: "Audit is an
essential part of the assurance we give to patients and NHS
partners. I'm delighted that we've completed our ten thousandth
audit case, as this indicates a very low discrepancy rate in the
much larger body of reports from which the random audit sample was
drawn. It's a major landmark both for our team and for audit in the
UK as it is the largest radiology audit data in the country.
“We think we are now setting a new benchmark in this area. Our
auditors have developed a huge body of audit experience that is of
real benefit to our own radiologists, and we have found that our
radiologists have been attracted by the learning our audit provides,
and the opportunity to objectively demonstrate the quality of their
work.
"With more than 60 NHS consultants working with us the benefit of
the audit of their work is being noticed in many NHS trusts. We are
increasingly being asked by NHS trusts to bring our audit expertise
to bear on their own work to augment their own clinical governance
and address any concerns that arise about reporting."
4 Ways utilises its proprietary 'Audit Software' integrated with
its PACS & RIS systems to randomly select a predefined percentage of
each clinician's workload according to the modality and sub
specialist area and subject that to independent audit. The Audit
team comprises well renowned clinicians in their chosen sub
specialty and currently in various centre of excellence NHS
departments.