What can we learn from the SARS-COV-2 pandemic about the value of specific radiological examinations?

Background The SARS-COV-2 pandemic provides a natural intervention to assess practical priority setting and internal evaluation of specific health services, such as radiological services. Norway makes an excellent case as it had a very low infection rate and very few cases of COVID-19. Accordingly,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:BMC health services research 2021-10, Vol.21 (1), p.1-1158, Article 1158
Main Authors: Hofmann, Bjørn, Andersen, Eivind Richter, Kjelle, Elin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ambulatory medical care
Appropriateness
Choosing wisely
Codes
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
Elective surgery
Epidemics
Ethics
Health services
Infection control
Influence
Low-value care
Medical ethics
Medicine
Methods
Outpatient care facilities
Pandemics
Practice
Radiology
Radiology, Medical
SARS-COV-2
Services
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
Standard deviation
Triage (Medicine)
Ultrasonic imaging
Utilization
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Summary:Background The SARS-COV-2 pandemic provides a natural intervention to assess practical priority setting and internal evaluation of specific health services, such as radiological services. Norway makes an excellent case as it had a very low infection rate and very few cases of COVID-19. Accordingly, the objective of this study is to use the changes in performed outpatient radiological examinations during the first stages of the SARS-COV-2 pandemic to assess the practical evaluation of specific radiological examinations in Norway. Methods Data was collected retrospectively from the Norwegian Health Economics Administration (HELFO) in the years 2015-2020. Data included the number of performed outpatient imaging examinations at public hospitals and private imaging centers in Norway and was divided in to three periods based on the level of restrictions on elective health services. Results were analyzed with descriptive statistics. Results In the first period there was a 45% reduction in outpatient radiology compared to the same time period in 2015-2019 while in period 2 and 3 there was a 25 and 6% reduction respectively. The study identified a list of specific potential low-value radiological examinations. While some of these are covered by the Choosing Wisely campaign, others are not. Conclusion By studying the priority setting practice during the initial phases of the pandemic this study identifies a set of potential low value radiological examinations during the initial phases of the SARS-COV-2 pandemic. These examinations are candidates for closer assessments for health services quality improvement. Keywords: Low-value care, Appropriateness, Choosing wisely, Ethics, Covid-19, SARS-COV-2
ISSN:1472-6963
1472-6963
DOI:10.1186/s12913-021-07190-w