Recommendations Follow-up Improvement Collaborative

This Collaborative of the ACR® Learning Network seeks to improve the early detection of lung cancer for incidentally detected pulmonary nodules.

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Up to 10% of all radiology reports contain follow-up recommendations, and approximately half of the recommended follow-up exams are never performed. Lung nodules represent about half of all imaging follow-up recommendations, and noncompliance with radiology lung nodule follow-up places patients at risk for delayed diagnosis of lung cancer.

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ACR Learning Network Recommendations Follow-Up Improvement Collaborative

Problem Statement

a. Appropriateness Measure: Not all patients with indeterminant lung nodules are consistently receiving actionable and appropriate recommendations for follow-up.

b. Completion Measure: The recommended follow-up for patients identified as having an indeterminant lung nodule is not being adequately completed within the identified time frame, putting them at risk for delayed diagnosis.

How the Collaborative Works

Each facility forms an interdisciplinary project team consisting of four to six members who participate in the ACR® ImPower Program, alongside a cohort of colleagues from other institutions. Together, these teams will receive quality improvement (QI) education and utilize QI tools to identify and test ways to improve the inclusion of appropriate and actionable follow-up recommendations for incidentally detected pulmonary nodules and the completion of timely follow-up for these recommendations.

Suggested team members:

Radiologist.
Patient care coordinator.
Primary care physician/team.
Radiology manager.
Radiology scheduler.

Learn how to participate

Collaborative Committee Chair

Ben Wandtke, MD, MS

Vice Chair

Associate Professor, Department of Imaging Sciences, University of Rochester
Physician Advisor for the ACR Lung Cancer Screening Registry (LCSR)

Collaborative Committee

Richard Friedland, MD
Melinda Johnson, MBA, RT, RDMS, RVT
Amy Warburton, BSHA, RT(R)

Link Up With the Learning Network

We’re here to help your team succeed. Please reach out with any questions to the ACR Learning Network team.

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