The ACR® Learning Network pursues improvement in diagnostic imaging care through a learning health systems approach characterized by strong leadership, effective use of data in the clinical setting, and both a culture and a workforce committed to continuous learning and improvement. The initiative is funded through a generous grant from the Betty and Gordon Moore Foundation.
The learning network is carried out through four improvement collaboratives that address important areas of cancer diagnosis:
A radiologist expert leads each of the improvement collaboratives comprised of teams from four to six sites per cohort working together to solve the same problem within their respective healthcare setting. Each collaborative develops and refines one or more measures to support the progress of the individual site projects and the progress of the entire collaborative. The learning network premise is when teams performing the work are involved in the creation of a measure they are of higher quality and more useful for tracking performance.
The work of 22 sites invited to participate in the improvement collaborative’s first cohort got underway in February 2022. The cohort 1 sites have laid important foundational work, such as problem definition, refining quality improvement measures and developing process maps, that will support cohort 2 and subsequent teams in getting off to an accelerated start.