The changing expectations of referring physicians and an increasing pay-for-performance burden for radiologists have created the need to integrate time-saving, efficient data mining tools into clinical workflow, said presenter Dr. Supriya Gupta.
"Data mining can not only help us assess imaging utilization, but if integrated and implemented in radiology workflow, it can be effectively used to order the right study, thereby increasing the pretest probability of an imaging exam," Gupta told AuntMinnie.com. "We enumerate the potential of data mining at each step of the clinical workflow to enhance pretest probability: before, during, and following placement of an exam order."
Because radiologists depend on the provided history and clinical examination of the referring physician, having an effective data mining system is crucial for answering the clinical question from an imaging study, she said.
Under the supervision of Dr. James Rawson, the university's radiology department has incorporated data mining tools into the workflow, resulting in an improved reporting performance.
Gupta noted that data mining requires the availability of an integrated electronic health record (EHR) that can be queried.
"The recent push by the government for adoption of EHRs should go hand in hand with data mining systems," Gupta said.
