Introduction

We facilitate an innovative process that empowers your organization to become a safer, more resilient, and more competitive medical imaging service provider.  This page gives some background and a brief overview of our services. 

Background

In modern medicine, medical imaging enables accurate diagnoses to be made faster, less invasively, and more cost effectively than ever before.  An accurate diagnosis is the foundation upon which any appropriate medical treatment is based.  Because of the vital role that diagnostic imaging has in determining an appropriate course of treatment, consistent quality in these services is imperative.

In its report entitled “To Err is Human; Building a Safer Health System,” the Institute of Medicine (IOM) asserts that medical errors are responsible for thousands of deaths and billions of dollars in lost productivity each year in the US.  In response to the IOM report, the American Society of Radiologic Technologists submitted a written testimony to Congress in February of 2000 stating:

“According to the IOM report, 17 percent of preventable medical errors are errors in diagnosis. The American Society of Radiologic Technologists believes that a significant number of these diagnostic errors may be attributed to poorly performed medical imaging examinations.”

While technological advances in medical imaging are astounding, there remains a great deal of art in applying the science.  Even the latest advances in technology require a professional to elicit patient cooperation and to manage the examination procedure.  This professional must have a good understanding of the anatomy being imaged, the physics used to generate the images, and the effects of pathologies on the images.  The technologist must evaluate the diagnostic quality of the images during the examination.  When image quality is compromised, the technologist must quickly recognize the inadequacy and determine its source.  He/she must then eliminate the cause, or moderate its effect, and repeat the view or imaging sequence as necessary.  Proficiency in making these corrections is vital – especially within the context of tight examination schedules.

Due to the difficult and vital nature of their work, medical imaging technologists need constructive feedback on the quality of the images they submit for interpretation.  In the past, radiologists have been able to instruct technologists and help them continually learn from their good or bad decisions; however, with the increasing workloads that radiologists are managing and the tighter exam schedules under which technologists are working, there is less time for this kind of interaction.  The growing number of exams being performed in remote locations further diminishes communication between technologists and radiologists.  Many radiologists have never met some of the technologists who submit images to them for interpretation.  They are increasingly dependent upon management to communicate with the technologist when exam quality is compromised and to help them improve their performance.  The highly technical and differentiated nature of medical imaging, the sheer volume of exams, the varying shifts, and the dispersion of imaging locations often make effective quality management an overwhelming if not impossible task.

QAISys^®

QAISys^® (Q-A-I-Sys) stands for Quality Assessment and Improvement System.  It denotes a patented process that enables comprehensive quality management of diagnostic medical imaging services.  Our web application draws data from your organization’s RIS.  This data serves as a statistical backdrop for assimilating and analyzing quality feedback from your radiologists and other quality feedback sources.

By collecting vital information from a key point in the imaging workflow, QAISys^® facilitates efficient, authoritative review of 100% of imaging exams and considers image quality deficiencies of all kinds for all modalities.  It bridges communication gaps between radiologists, technologists, and managers.  It empowers management to assess and track image quality for each individual technologist and for the entire department by modality, location, shift, and exam-type.

Implementation of QAISys^® enables in-depth common cause analysis of recurrent quality failures.  It indicates exam-types that should be targeted for improvement as well as practical, cost-effective solutions for improving image quality.  QAISys^® data is specific and actionable because complicating factors may be taken into account such as patient-related difficulties, equipment malfunctions or limitations, and process inefficiencies.  Accounting for these kinds of factors enables discovery of latent organizational weaknesses so that they may be addressed.  Effective application of QAISys^® data engenders powerful human performance and safety culture dynamics that have both an immediate and a residual impact on the quality of your medical imaging exams.

Patient Safety Organization

QAISys, Inc. is listed as a “Patient Safety Organization” (PSO) as defined in the 2005 Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act (PSQIA).  Under PSQIA, our data, all internal communications regarding its compilation, and any communications between us and our client regarding quality management is considered to be “Patient Safety Work Product” (PSWP) and receives special privileges and protections under this federal act.  PSWP is privileged and unavailable for use in medical malpractice suits.  Further, the Patient Safety Act protects PSWP from disclosure so that it may not be used to harm the reputation and accreditations of your organization or associates.  For more details, review this page:  About Us>PSO.