Result Management Key Initiative Goes Live in December

November 20, 2020 | 2 min. to read

Northwestern Medicine’s key initiative to improve the identification and tracking of important findings on diagnostic images has entered its final build stage. An innovative approach has been identified for ensuring follow-up of important findings on radiology images.

In collaboration with Northwestern University, the project team developed an artificial intelligence (AI) solution using natural language processing:

• First, the presence of lung and adrenal nodules is identified in a radiologist’s dictated report.  
• Next, the information is sent to Epic, which creates an In Basket message.
• The In Basket message includes an actionable best practice alert (BPA) that clearly displays the imaging study result and follow-up recommendations.

 
Physicians will be able to quickly order the recommended follow-up, cancel if it is not clinically required, or easily transfer responsibility to a follow-up team if they are not the appropriate physician. Follow-up orders will be auto-tracked in the system until they are completed. If a patient does not have a primary care physician on record or does not attend a follow-up visit in the specified time frame, a nurse will contact the patient to ensure follow-up is completed and documented in the medical record.

The AI solution has demonstrated high reliability, capturing the vast majority of suspicious nodules. The project team is currently working to finalize the build and test multiple scenarios to ensure end-to-end performance. Communication about the project and new workflow is underway in all regions. The project is slated to go live during the Epic release in December.   
 
Work on the Result Management key initiative will continue into fiscal year 2021. During the next several months, the team will add findings to the new workflow, including hepatic steatosis, ovarian lesions and thyroid nodules. Additional plans focusing on using the new workflow and technology in the inpatient setting, as well as exploring use outside of diagnostic imaging, are scheduled to launch by the end of the fiscal year.

The project team welcomes your thoughts about additional important findings that might be built into the tracking workflow. Work will continue to identify and implement critical findings that might be easy to overlook. The goal is to use AI and Epic result tracking to enhance relationships, reliability and efficiency.
 
For more information about the Result Management key initiative, or to schedule someone to present to the teams at your location, please contact Jane Domingo at [email protected].

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