From herding cats toward best practices: standardizing the radiologic work process.

Abstract

Considerable variation in radiologic procedures, protocols, policies, and workflows exists across the nation, sometimes even within departments. This lack of standardization fosters idiosyncratic behavior and outcomes, undermining the effort to implement best practices across institutions. The purpose of this article is to discuss the need for rapidly implementing recognized standards and best practices when they exist. The use of information systems to monitor a wide variety of quality metrics offers managers the opportunity to standardize radiology and departmental practices, with the goal of transforming these practices into those that are more efficient and cost-effective and of higher quality.