Peer learning on a shoe string: success of a distributive model for peer learning in a community radiology practice

Purpose: To describe our 3-year experience operating a peer learning program with minimal resources, calculate the cost of the program, and compare participants' attitudes toward peer learning to the historical peer review system.

Materials and methods: The peer learning conference is held monthly for 1 h via a web-based video conferencing platform. Case identification, curation, and conference presentation are performed by individual radiologists. Using national estimates for unit costs of radiologist time and other inputs, we calculated the marginal cost of the peer learning program to the medical group. After 21 months of holding the conference, we conducted an anonymous survey to assess the impact of the conference and how it may be improved.

Results: A peer learning conference was established for a 24- person community-based practice, which is part of a large multi-disciplinary medical group. Cases discussed included diagnostic errors, technologist errors, good calls, and challenging cases. Total annual cost of the program is $3288. Survey respondents had overall positive views of the conference and strongly preferred peer learning to the existing peer review system in place, with 80% of respondents rating peer learning more favorably than peer review on education value, supportive environment, and punitive process, and 70% more positively on culture of blaming.

Conclusion: We established a peer learning program with minimal resources. Radiologists in the group strongly prefer the peer learning conference over the existing peer review program in place. A peer learning program can be successfully started and sustained with limited resources.