The Value of a Disease-Specific Template and an IT-Based Quality Tracking System in Pulmonary Embolism CT Angiography

Previously, ventilation-perfusion scans were the main modality to assess for suspected pulmonary embolism (PE) [1]. Ventilation-perfusion scans have now been largely supplanted by chest CT angiographic (CTA) examinations. CTA has the advantages of wide availability, rapid acquisition, and high positive predictive value. Moreover, chest CTA scans often detect significant non-PE findings [2-4]. PE chest CTA is among the most common cross-sectional examination types performed in our section. In a primary aim to determine if utilization rates of chest CTA scans for detection of PE were appropriate and as secondary aims to decrease variation in reporting of PE and to automate data collection, we created a template for PE chest CTA (CT PE) studies and a tracking tabulation software called PE Tracker.

Source: Journal of the American College of Radiology : JACR - May 7, 2018 Category: Radiology Authors: Jonathan H. Chung, Luis Landeras, Kateland Haas, Peng Liu, Lili Liu, Heber MacMahon Tags: Case studies in clinical practice management Source Type: research