ESR concept paper on value-based radiology

AbstractThe European Society of Radiology (ESR) established a Working Group on Value-Based Imaging (VBI WG) in August 2016 in response to developments in European healthcare systems in general, and the trend within radiology to move from volume- to value-based practice in particular. The value-based healthcare (VBH) concept defines “value” as health outcomes achieved for patients relative to the costs of achieving them. Within this framework, value measurements start at the beginning of therapy; the whole diagnostic process is disregarded, and is considered only if it is the cause of errors or complications. Making the cas e for a new, multidisciplinary organisation of healthcare delivery centred on the patient, this paper establishes the diagnosis of disease as a first outcome in the interrelated activities of the healthcare chain. Metrics are proposed for measuring the quality of radiologists’ diagnoses and the va rious ways in which radiologists provide value to patients, other medical specialists and healthcare systems at large. The ESR strongly believes value-based radiology (VBR) is a necessary complement to existing VBH concepts. The Society is determined to establish a holistic VBR programme to help Eur opean radiologists deal with changes in the evolution from volume- to value-based evaluation of radiological activities.Main Messages• Value-based healthcare defines value as patient’s outcome over costs.• The VBH framework disregards the diagnosis as an ou...

Source: Insights into Imaging - August 30, 2017 Category: Radiology Source Type: research