Radiology-TEACHES

Radiology-TEACHES is an online portal that uses case vignettes in ACR’s CORTEX integrated with the ACR Select® clinical decision support (CDS) to simulate the process of ordering imaging studies via integrated CDS. ACR Select, a digital representation of the ACR Appropriateness Criteria® for diagnostic imaging, is a module contained within CareSelect Imaging.

Learners, including medical students, receive this evidence-based feedback at the virtual point of order entry, thereby better understanding appropriate imaging utilization and empowering them to reduce waste. 

Recognizing that medical education curricula often lack evidence-based guidance regarding appropriateness and cost of imaging examinations, radiologists at Baylor College of Medicine partnered with the American College of Radiology and the National Decision Support Company to create Radiology-TEACHES (Technology Enhanced Appropriateness Criteria Home for Education Simulation).

The program has been presented as an initial pilot at the Baylor College of Medicine and progressed to a second multisite pilot including the University of Chicago, Montefiore, Augusta University, USUHS, Cooper Medical School at Rowan University, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, USCSOM and Wake Forest School of Medicine.

Radiology-TEACHES Fulfills the AAMC Core Entrustable Professional Activities

Physicians must be skillful.
  • Knowledge of the most frequent clinical, laboratory, roentgenologic, and pathologic manifestations of common maladies
    •  Radiology-TEACHES is a resource helping educate learners regarding appropriate imaging utilization, imaging related safety (such as radiation exposure and MRI safety), appropriate use of intravenous contrast, and cost of imaging.
  • The ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with patients, patients’ families, colleagues, and others with whom physicians must exchange information in carrying out their responsibilities
    • Radiology-TEACHES has been utilized in multiple education environments, including: asynchronous learner-directed education, a platform for facilitated patient-facing discussions, and flipped classrooms.
  • The ability to interpret the results of commonly used diagnostic procedures
    • The connection to self-directed learning materials provides learners an opportunity to fill knowledge gaps regarding the downstream diagnostic images they order in this simulated educational environment.

Physicians must be dutiful.

  • The ability to identify factors that place individuals at risk for disease or injury, to select appropriate tests for detecting patients at risk for specific diseases or in the early stage of disease, and to determine strategies for responding appropriately
    • Not only is Radiology-TEACHES a resource helping educate learners regarding imaging related safety (such as radiation exposure and MRI safety), but learners also have an opportunity to learn about imaging-related population health screening (breast cancer, lung cancer, colorectal cancer, abdominal aortic aneurysm).

Physicians must be knowledgeable.

  • Knowledge of the altered structure and function (pathology and pathophysiology) of the body and its major organ systems that are seen in various diseases and conditions
    • The easy connection to self-directed learning resources and ability to provide higher level learning opportunities has been leveraged connect learners not only with the images, but also the underlying pathology of the cases.

Now Accepting New Sites

Radiology-TEACHES is now accepting new sites to participate in the program’s free
CDS / appropriate imaging educationRadiology-Teaches-Smartsheet.

What does the program offer?

  • Pre and post assessments
  • 7 core clerkships specific modules
  • 2 general topic modules primarily based on Choosing Wisely topics
  • Certificate of Completion for each assessment and education module
  • Students can see their scores with benchmarking
  • Faculty can track their students and view individual performance with benchmarking
  • “Ask a Radiologist a question” will allow students to email their institution Radiologist champion to ask questions about the cases and radiology

To participate, follow the steps below:

  1. Identify your Radiologist champion(s) and the program coordinator.
    The Radiologist champion will be responsible for answering student questions and will have access to monitor student progress through the program. Multiple champions can be submitted. The program coordinator will be responsible for gathering the student information for user accounts, sending that information to the Radiology-TEACHES team for user account creation and sending out the welcome emails to the students once the activities are assigned.

  2. Compile the student information to get user accounts created.
    Gather the student names, email and student year (MS1, MS2, R1, PA, NP, etc.) on the user account creation spreadsheet HERE. Make sure to identify the institution name on the spreadsheet. This spreadsheet will be attached to the activities form detailed below in step 3. Allow a minimum of 10 working days to get user accounts created.

  3. Pick the activities.
    Select the activities your students will participate in by reviewing the demo activity list on the form and completing the form HERE. Attach the student roster spreadsheet to the form for the user account creation. NOTE: To access demo activities, you do not need to be an ACR member but must have an ACR account. To create a free account, go to www.acr.org and click the Log In box in the top right menu bar.

  4. Email your students.
    Once notified that the user accounts are created, send the welcome email to your students. An email template for student notification is available HERE.

  5. Track and monitor your students’ progress.
    On the education portal, click the Reports link on the top left of the menu bar.

    For more information on the education portal view the solutions pages.

Note: ACR is pleased to offer Radiology-TEACHES modules to medical students and their programs for educational purposes. ACR offers the modules “as is” with no customizations or particular functionality.

Questions? Contact RadiologyTeaches@acr.org now
Email

Radiology-TEACHES is powered by the Cortex platform

Dr. Marc Willis Presents Radiology-TEACHES at RSNA’s Fast-Five Session 

Watch Dr. Marc Willis present Radiology-TEACHES at RSNA's Inaugural Fast-Five Session, 2017 >> 

An engaging, fast-paced opportunity to share new ideas, the RSNA 2017 Fast 5 Session debuted at the 2017 RSNA meeting. During this inaugural session, five speakers each made a five-minute presentation accompanied by slides to share their ideas to explore, invent and transform radiology.

“How can healthcare reach its place with other industries of high visability? In radiology, we need to educate differently, effectively and more efficiently,” Dr. Willis said. “I believe that Radiology-TEACHES can be an agent for change — to make a difference for our profession, our patients and society.”


Improving Undergraduate Medical Education: Teaching Imaging Appropriateness

Radiology-TEACHES Champion, Marc Willis ( Baylor College of Medicine), is extremely passionate about teaching and introducing medical students to appropriate imaging. 

“The goal of Radiology-TEACHES is to prepare current and future medical providers to deliver high-value health care by decreasing waste and increasing patient safety through improved imaging utilization, as outlined in health care’s Triple Aim,” Willis explains. “The platform provides a simulated education environment that is flexible and scalable. It can be used across a wide spectrum — from individual learners to inter-professional teams — ensuring patients receive the best care possible. That’s something we should all be focused on as we transition from volume- to value-based care.”

Read more on teaching imaging appropriateness »

 
Figure 1 Dr. Marc Willis Demonstrates Radiology-TEACHES to Students   Figure 2 Improving Undergraduate Medical Education: Teaching Imaging Appropriateness

Watch: Dr. Marc Willis Presenting Radiology-TEACHES at AAMC 2017

Radiology-TEACHES, led by principal investigator, Marc H. Willis, DO, earned the 2017 ABIM Foundation, Costs of Care, and Leapfrog Group Creating Value Challenge “Teaching Value” Award.

This competition was aimed at recognizing innovative ideas and projects for teaching and implementing high-value health care among collaborative teams of clinicians, educators, quality improvement specialists, and health system administrators.

  • ACR Press Release: Radiology-TEACHES Wins ABIM Foundation Creating Value Challenge
  • ABIM Press Release : Winning Ideas and Innovations: Teaching and Creating Value in Health Care to Reduce Waste and Improve Outcomes

Walkthrough of the Radiology-TEACHES Education Portal

The Radiology-TEACHES Education Portal provides access to the activities scheduled for the institution for faculty and students. The portal allows students to view the activities assigned to them, print their Certificate of Completion and view their scores. Faculty can track their students via the portal and view their students’ scores and benchmarking.


Additional Information

Articles of Interest

Related Programs

Clinical Decision Support



ACR Select®, a digital representation of the ACR Appropriateness Criteria® for diagnostic imaging, is a module contained within CareSelect Imaging.

ACR Select is ready to incorporate into computerized ordering and EHR systems to guide providers when ordering medical imaging scans.


Learn more