Developing a Patient-Centered Radiology Process Model

Purpose: There has been increasing interest in the process of care that patients experience. To keep step with the rest of medicine, our specialty should be designing metrics that assess the overall experience of patients seeking care in radiology departments. A recent memo from the ACR chair calls for more work in this area. The aim of this study was to develop a patient-centered model for the experience of radiologic care, which may be helpful in addressing this need.

Methods: Using principles of multiattribute utility theory and psychometric theory as well as recent literature, a model was developed for a patient-centered index that could be used in radiology facilities.

Results: A model was developed that concisely incorporates patient-centeredness of both radiologists and staff members (communication with patient and referrers, competence, and pain control) as well as patient- and process-related issues such as costs, procedural morbidity, access to care, appointment duration, waiting, timing of appointments, cleanliness of facility, and coordination with clinical services. The overall radiology process model was constructed as a set of nested models, which allow more integrated detail within the domains of patient experience.

Conclusions: This model and others like it may help the ACR develop quality metrics to reasonably quantify the patient experience.