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HI-IQ article for Fall 2019 issue of IR Quarterly

HI-IQ article for Fall 2019 issue of IR Quarterly

September 21, 2019

“The Impact of Hospital Consolidation on Management of IR Quality Assurance”

As hospitals and health systems consolidate, management of clinical departments often shifts to align with the structure of the new organization.  In many cases, this means that an IR division which once operated independently with little or no oversight at the hospital corporate level now has to report up to radiology and quality management within the health system.  For an IR Division Chief who may now find themselves responsible for not just their own IR department, but also those of IR departments across the health system, managing quality and outcomes becomes a bigger challenge, but can also offer greater opportunities for standardization of care and quality improvement.

Three IR Division leaders of large health systems were interviewed to gain their perspective on strategic and practical techniques for managing IR across multiple facilities.  Their responses follow below.

“Healthcare consolidation is rampant – and it’s placing huge demands on organizations to prepare for a future of fierce competition for informed consumers.” (read more)
  • James Spies is the Chairman, Chief of Service, and a Professor of the Department of Radiology at Medstar Georgetown University Hospital. He also serves on Medstar’s Interventional Clinical Practice Committee, where he owns responsibility for IR Quality Improvement across the nine (9) Medstar hospitals providing interventional radiology services.
  • David Spinosa is Director of Inova’s Vascular Center of Excellence, where he oversees provision of IR services in Inova’s five interventional radiology departments.
  • Greg Pilat is the Radiology Systems Director for Advocate Healthcare, a network comprised of twelve (12) hospitals, which recently merged with Aurora Healthcare. Greg oversees the functionality and integration of all radiology systems throughout the Advocate hospitals.

[Question] – Thanks for taking the time to share your insights with us.  Could you please briefly recap your career path leading up to your role now, and elaborate a bit on your responsibilities?

[Answer] – please type your response here, thanks!

[Question] – Let’s set a baseline for the rest of the discussion, in your own words, how do you define quality?

[Answer] – please type your response here, thanks!

[Question] – What are the biggest challenges you face when measuring quality in IR across an enterprise?

[Answer] – please type your response here, thanks!

 

[Question] – How well is your electronic medical record (EMR) helping you meet those challenges?

[Answer] – please type your response here, thanks!  (hint:  it would be great if you could mention HI-IQ here, which will lead into your response on the next question…)

[Question] – You mentioned that you use HI-IQ.  What’s the scope of your use?  How does HI-IQ make your job easier?

[Answer] – please type your response here, thanks!

[Question] – Can you give a specific example of an improvement area you identified, and describe how it was detected (using HI-IQ) and what steps you took to make improvements?

 [Answer] – please type your response here, thanks!

[Question] – In your opinion, is consolidation in healthcare improving quality or reducing it?  How have you seen this play out in your organization?

 [Answer] – please type your response here, thanks!

[Question] – What advice would you give to independent IR departments that are on the precipice of a merger or acquisition in regards to setting a baseline for measuring quality and outcomes across the enterprise?

[Answer] – please type your response here, thanks!


About HI-IQ

HI-IQ was designed by volunteers from the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) and provides solutions for a diverse range of interventional radiology needs. First developed in 1993 as a means of capturing QA data, HI-IQ has evolved into the centerpiece tool for managing IR workflow. Today HI-IQ is solely marketed and developed by ConexSys Inc., the healthcare division of Custom Computer Specialists, under the exclusive advisory guidance of the Society of Interventional Radiology.