Member, Medical Imaging Appropriateness Faculty Team

BC is committed to improving the safety, appropriateness and quality of health care services by ensuring that health care teams are adapting to existing knowledge of when to use medical imaging. The BC Patient Safety & Quality Council, in partnership with the Ministry of Health, are seeking two patient partners to share their medical imaging experience to inform the development of a provincial virtual learning initiative.

Open to: Patient partners across the province

Lead Organization or Department

BC Patient Safety & Quality Council (BCPSQC)

Aim

• To increase the number of times a patient is provided the right test at the right time
• To support the spread and accelerate medical imaging improvements according to the newly approved imaging appropriateness BC Guidelines, which in turn, help reduce radiation, reduce downstream testing, enable improved access for indicated imaging tests and, in the case of Emergency Room diagnostics, reduce congestion due to testing time.
• Patient partners will be a contributing member of the faculty team, supporting the development of a virtual learning initiative through sharing their experience and knowledge of the impact (positive and negative) of medical imaging on patients and ensure the team considers what matters to them

Level of Engagement

This opportunity is at the level of collaborate on the spectrum of engagement. The promise to you is that the health care partner will work together with you to formulate solutions and incorporate your advice and recommendations into the decisions to the maximum extent possible.

Eligibility

Open to patient partners across the province who have:

• Experience working on quality improvement projects - previous experience participating in a collaborative would be ideal
• Had medical imaging as a patient - e.g. having undergone multiple imaging tests
• Are comfortable sharing their experience and ideas via teleconference, webinar and in-person
• Some familiarity with data analysis, project management considered an asset, but not required

Logistics

• Vacancies: 2
• Date/time: November, TBD in consultation with the patient partner
• Commitment: roughly 1-2 days per month, one-hour meetings up to one year
• Location: In person (Vancouver), teleconference & webinar

Reimbursement

Travel costs, per the BC Patient Safety & Quality Council policy

Background

Studies conducted in Canada suggest wide variation in rates of inappropriate medical imaging, ranging from 2% to 24%. In some cases, the delivery of these services is inappropriate or even unnecessary. For patients, inappropriate tests and treatments have limited utility and potentially expose them to harm such as additional testing, unnecessary radiation exposure, and lead to investigation of false positives and unnecessary anxiety. Also, inappropriate services result in a waste of system resources, avoidable costs, and contribute to longer wait times. Essentially, “there is no benefit to inappropriate imaging.” We define ‘appropriate medical imaging’ as having the right test at the right time for the right reason. Our faculty team will comprise of individuals from Emergency Medicine, Primary Care NPs and Hospitalists, Resident Doctors of BC, BC Radiology Society, Practitioners that work in urban and rural settings, Administration lead – Health Authority Director or Executive Director This team will provide clinical expertise with the following implementation strategies:

• Assists with the design and implementation of the initiative;
• Helps recruit improvement teams;
• Confirms goals, change ideas and measures in medical imaging appropriateness
• Teaches and facilitates improvement teams during webinars and potential site visits
• Advises Chair and Director of teams’ progress and issues
• Helps with planning and coordination of the initiative
• Helps distribute findings and spread the work of the initiative

Health Care Partner Contact Information

Jami Brown
Engagement Leader, Patient and Public Engagement | Fraser Valley
604.510.0449
jbrown@bcpsqc.ca