A continuous quality improvement initiative using education decreased the use of inappropriate coronary computed tomography angiography at 47 Michigan hospitals, according to a study in Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Researchers implemented a continuous quality improvement initiative from July 2008 to June 2010 in which they provided education to referring physicians and emphasized the possible loss of third-party payor coverage if compliance with appropriate use criteria did not increase. The authors defined appropriateness by existing 2006 AUC.
The intervention was conducted at 47 Michigan hospitals enrolled in the Advanced Cardiovascular Imaging Consortium.
The researchers compared practices before intervention, from July 2007 to June 2008, to practices after intervention, from July 2010 to December 2010. Data showed the number of appropriate CCTA scans increased 23.4 percent and the number of inappropriate scans decreased 60.3 percent between these two periods.
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Researchers implemented a continuous quality improvement initiative from July 2008 to June 2010 in which they provided education to referring physicians and emphasized the possible loss of third-party payor coverage if compliance with appropriate use criteria did not increase. The authors defined appropriateness by existing 2006 AUC.
The intervention was conducted at 47 Michigan hospitals enrolled in the Advanced Cardiovascular Imaging Consortium.
The researchers compared practices before intervention, from July 2007 to June 2008, to practices after intervention, from July 2010 to December 2010. Data showed the number of appropriate CCTA scans increased 23.4 percent and the number of inappropriate scans decreased 60.3 percent between these two periods.
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