e RADPEER™ Launches
The American College of Radiology recently launched e RADPEER™, the electronic, web-based version of our peer review program.
The e RADPEER™ process will use the same method as RADPEER™ with peer review being conducted while routine interpretation of current images takes place. If there are prior images of the same area of interest, they will be re-read and scored by the reviewer using a standardized 4-point rating scale:
1 = Concur with interpretation
2 = Difficult diagnosis, not ordinarily expected to be made
3 = Diagnosis should be made most of the time*
4 = Diagnosis should be made almost every time there is a mis-interpretation of findings*
*Scores of 3 or 4 should be reviewed by QA chair or committee for internal review before submission to The ACR.
The reviewing radiologist will log in to the e RADPEER™ Web site and score the image by selecting the appropriate modality and number score (Figure 1). Institutions will have a unique identifier number, assigned by the ACR. To maintain confidentiality, facilities will assign each radiologist a numeric identifier to use when scores are submitted to the e RADPEER™ database at The ACR. In addition, radiologists will also create a unique password at the time of first login to the system.
The process requires no additional interpretive work on the part of the radiologist beyond the RADPEER™ program. Instead, e RADPEER™ creates an easy-to-use system that allows prior images and interpretations to be reviewed, scored, and collected into a program to produce a report for each radiologist (Figure 2), plus a summary report for the group (Figure 3).
Facilities and practices should still protect the data collected and reviewed in accordance with institution policy and state law. The ACR will consider these data to be privileged and confidential peer review records of the ACR and are thus subject to the legal protection of the Medical Malpractice Act of Virginia under Section 8.01-581 of the Code of Virginia.
You are welcome to review this new process by visiting the quality and safety section at www.acr.org. Select RADPEER and then under Documents, "Try Out e RADPEER™." The card-based RADPEER™ program will continue to be available; however, facilities must select one program, either electronic or paper.
RADPEER™ will also be offered as a "stand alone" program for facilities that do not have Internet access. In addition, submission of scores by PDA (with Internet access) has been developed and is available to members who choose to submit e RADPEER™ data by this method. This will only be available to participants whose group is enrolled in e RADPEER™.
Direct questions about the e RADPEER™ program via e-mail to Trudie Cushing at tcushing@acr.org.
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