Significantly reduced odds of inappropriate imaging with interventions using physician audit, feedback
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 6, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Quality improvement interventions that employ physician audit and feedback can reduce inappropriate cardiac imaging, according to a review published online Jan. 5 in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.
Dipayan Chaudhuri, from McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, and colleagues conducted a systematic review of studies assessing quality improvement initiatives aimed at reducing inappropriate cardiovascular imaging. Data were included from six observational studies and one randomized control trial. Six of the interventions had a formal education component and five included a mechanism for audit and feedback for physicians.
The researchers found that the odds of inappropriate testing were reduced with interventions (odds ratio [OR], 0.44; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.32 to 0.61), with significant heterogeneity observed (I² = 70 percent); the reduction was best explained by the use of physician audit and feedback. The odds of inappropriate testing were reduced significantly with interventions that employed physician audit and feedback (OR, 0.36; 95 percent CI, 0.31 to 0.41), whereas interventions without this component had no effect (OR, 0.89; 95 percent CI, 0.61 to 1.29).
“Interventions using physician audit and feedback are associated with lower odds of inappropriate cardiac testing,” the authors write. “Further research is needed to evaluate a greater diversity of intervention types, with improved study designs.”
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