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HELSEVEL-Gode og effektive helse-, omsorgs- og velferdstjenester

IROS: Improving radiological services From capricious low-value care to effective high-value services

Alternative title: Optimalisering av radiologiske tjenester (ORT) Fra undersøkelser med lav verdi til effektive tjenester av høy verdi

Awarded: NOK 12.0 mill.

The project Improving Radiological Services (IROS) aims to improve the quality of the radiological services in Norway by increasing high-value examinations and reducing unnecessary examinations and harm. 25% of the Norwegian population has one or more outpatient radiological examinations every year at the total cost of 813 million NOK. Additionally, there is a great number of inpatient examinations. Internationally it is estimated that 20-50% of radiological examinations represent overutilization. A conservative estimate (20%) would mean that 260,000 outpatient examinations in Norway every year are unnecessary and provide no benefit for the patient or for the health services. On the contrary, they represent a risk in terms of false positive test results, overdiagnosis, overtreatment, and side effects, including unnecessary radiation exposure. The costs for unnecessary outpatient radiological services alone are 163 million NOK in 2017. The objective of this project is to free resources for high-value care by identifying and reducing low-value radiological services. By using state of the art methodology in health services research, implementation science, and health economics, IROS will identify low-value radiological services and tailor an intervention to free resources for high-value radiological services. Additionally IROS will increase patient safety and quality of care and reduce the variability in these services. This will be obtained by strong stakeholder involvement in all phases of the project. Therefore the Norwegian Medical Association, the Norwegian Radiological Association, the Norwegian Patients? Organization as well as key stakeholders at the regional hospitals and among the referrers are strongly involved. The project connects tightly to the Norwegian Directorate of Health?s Strategy for rational use of radiological services. This gives the project a timewise and topical match between research, professional initiatives, and health policy. Moreover, it addresses the health services urgent need to quality assurance, patient safety, and to free resources for high-value care.

IROS aims to improve the quality of the radiological services in Norway and free at least 33 million NOK for high-value care by reducing unnecessary examinations and harm. 25% of the Norwegian population has one or more outpatient radiological examinations every year at the total cost of 813 million NOK. Internationally it is estimated that 20-50% of radiological examinations represent overutilization. A conservative estimate (20%) would mean that 260,000 outpatient examinations in Norway every year are unnecessary and provide no benefit for the patient or for the health services. On the contrary, they represent a risk in terms of false positive test results, overdiagnosis, overtreatment, and side effects, including unnecessary radiation exposure. The costs for unnecessary outpatient radiological services alone are 163 million NOK in 2017. The objective of this proposal is to free resources for high-value care by identifying and reducing low-value radiological services. By using state of the art methodology in health services research, implementation science, and health economics, IROS will identify low-value radiological services and tailor an intervention to target low-value radiological services. Additionally IROS will increase patient safety and quality of care and reduce the variability in these services. To do so IROS will have a strong stakeholder involvement in all phases of the project. It connects perfectly to the Norwegian Medical Association’s Choosing-Wisely-campaign and to the Norwegian Directorate of Health’s Strategy for rational use of radiological services starting 2020. IROS is in line with the strategy’s aim to reduce the number of unwarranted examinations, regional variation in use of radiological services, and overdiagnosis. This gives the project a timewise and topically perfect match between research, professional initiatives, and health policy. Moreover, it addresses the health services urgent need to free resources for high-value care.

Publications from Cristin

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HELSEVEL-Gode og effektive helse-, omsorgs- og velferdstjenester