Targeted Interventions Improve Imaging Recommendations and Diagnostic Safety

An AHRQ-funded study in Radiology found that specific interventions reduced recommendations for additional imaging by 44 percent and made the remaining recommendations 7.6 times more actionable. About 10 percent of radiology exams include recommendations for additional imaging, which are meant to help clarify diagnoses but may contribute to unnecessary testing when not actionable. Researchers analyzed more than 7.5 million radiology reports from 1,323,459 patients across two hospitals between 2015 and 2022, comparing a control site with one that implemented targeted interventions. These interventions—radiologist education, a closed-loop tracking tool, and personalized feedback—reduced the rate of additional imaging recommendations from 10 percent to 5.6 percent and increased the proportion of actionable recommendations from 5.6 percent to 42.3 percent, while rates at the control site remained stable. The results highlight the potential for targeted interventions to improve patient safety by reducing diagnostic errors, while also promoting more efficient and appropriate use of imaging across radiologic subspecialties. https://pubs.rsna.org/doi/10.1148/radiol.243750