The American College of Emergency Physicians is recognizing a dozen emergency departments across the U.S. for their work to reduce unnecessary imaging and improve care for patients.
Those involved are participants in the doc group’s Emergency Quality Network Honor Roll, which includes a year-long collaborative during which physicians share their imaging data and discuss best practices virtually.
Since ACEP launched the effort, participating EDs have saved some $55 million from avoiding unnecessary imaging and hospitalizations. Their efforts have also led to 30,000 fewer patients being harmed by ionizing radiation according to an announcement.
“Through collaboration and innovation, the emergency departments that participate in E-QUAL are transforming emergency medicine and advancing how we care for millions of people,” ACEP President William Jaquis, MD, said in a statement. “The 2019 E-QUAL Honor Roll awardees are the shining example for how emergency departments can lead the way in practice transformation and quality improvements.”
Determination of such unnecessary imaging is based on recommendations from the Choosing Wisely campaign and professional societies such as the American College of Radiology, according to ACEP’s website.
Among the winners, Bayhealth Kent General in Delaware was recognized as a “top performer” for having the lowest CT and x-ray utilization in lower back pain patients across participants. Parkview Warsaw Hospital in Indiana was also honored as a top hospital for avoiding head CT when treating minor head trauma, while NorthBay Medical Center in California got the nod for its avoidance of abdominal computed tomography in patients with renal colic.
This year’s 12 E-QUAL Honor Roll: Avoidable Imaging Awardees are:
- Bayhealth Emergency Center Smyrna, Smyrna, Delaware
- Bayhealth Emergency Physicians Kent Campus, Dover, Delaware
- Bonner General Hospital, Sandpoint, Idaho
- Boulder Community Health; Foothills Hospital, Boulder, Colorado
- Brunswick Freestanding Emergency, Brunswick, Ohio
- Cape Coral Hospital, Cape Coral, Florida
- Montefiore New Rochelle, New Rochelle, New York
- NorthBay Medical Center, Fairfield, California
- Parkview Warsaw Hospital, Warsaw, Indiana
- Parkview Whitley Hospital, Columbia City, Indiana
- Sharp Memorial Hospital, San Diego, California
- Shore Memorial Hospital, Somers Point, New Jersey
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.