title: Quality assurance methodology and applications to abdominal imaging PQI.
abstract: Quality assurance has increasingly become an integral part of medicine, with tandem goals of increasing patient safety and procedural quality, improving efficiency, lowering cost, and ultimately improving patient outcomes. This article reviews quality assurance methodology, ranging from the PDSA cycle to the application of lean techniques, aimed at operational efficiency, to continually evaluate and revise the health care environment. Alignment of goals for practices, hospitals, and healthcare organizations is critical, requiring clear objectives, adequate resources, and transparent reporting. In addition, there is a significant role played by regulatory bodies and oversight organizations in determining external benchmarks of quality, practice, and individual certification and reimbursement. Finally, practical application of quality principles to practice improvement projects in abdominal imaging will be presented.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, The University of Chicago, 5841 S. Maryland Ave., MC 2026, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA. dpaushter@uchicago.edu.
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Paushter
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, The University of Chicago, 5841 S. Maryland Ave., MC 2026, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA.
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Thomas
mesh_terms: D000005:Abdomen / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards*; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D006801:Humans; D061214:Patient Safety; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D058996:Quality Improvement
keywords: Lean; Practice quality improvement; Quality; Safety