National, Regional and Global Radiology and Medical Imaging Referral Guidelines: Issues and Opportunities

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the access to and use of referral guidelines in radiology and medical imaging worldwide. The rationale; national, regional and global actions; development and implementation processes; and issues and opportunities for referral guidelines are discussed. (The discussions are related to other chapters. Please refer to the following for more detail: (a) Use of referral guidelines as a justification tool: national perspective. (b) Use of imaging appropriateness criteria for decision support during radiology order entry: the MGH experience. (c) Improving quality through lean process improvement: the example of clinical decision support).

Radiology referral guidelines are tools to assist referrers and providers towards Good Medical Practice and procedure justification by using radiology and medical imaging appropriately, thus minimizing unnecessary radiation exposure and waste of resources. The development and provision of up-to-date evidence-based contents in an innovative user-friendly package lay the foundation in a multi-stage process involving many stakeholders. For system-wide implementation, the support from the competent authorities is needed. Strong advocacy from organizations and agencies on the use of guidelines will facilitate their incorporation into policy. The active involvement and participation of the end-users along these steps will improve awareness, ownership, acceptance and use. Leadership from individual experts, organizations, and agencies by facilitating stakeholder engagement, collaboration and participation will improve guideline use leading to better patient care, safer and more appropriate use of procedures.