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This project:
Identified the main roles performed by consumers in accreditation programs
Identified strategies currently employed to successfully engage with recognised consumer organisations
Investigated associated issues (eg legal and financial arrangements) involved in consumer engagement
Developed an appropriate generic procedure for engaging consumers in College activities, as well as documenting the rationale of consumer representation to the membership
The purpose of this project was to review and recommend consumer role(s) (of consumer advocates) in the development and implementation of the practice accreditation program.
The project used a mixed methods approach, drawing on a systematic literature review and consultation with key stakeholder organisations, both directly and via a brief survey. The methodology included the development of a detailed work plan, verbal progress reports throughout the project, an interim progress report, the development and dissemination of a key issues paper to selected stakeholders for comment, and a draft final report.
Australia's Health Pty Ltd
Consumers clearly wanted to participate in the governance and oversight of accreditation and standard setting, and as members of survey teams - roles with which most specialists agreed and were supportive of.
Staff of the peak professional organisations, however, were generally not supportive of these roles. This may be partly due to lack of familiarity with the willingness of consumers to be engaged in a meaningful way, and the capacity of consumer representatives from peak consumer healthcare organisations to provide appropriate input to these activities.
The project report suggests there is a need to develop an awareness strategy which addresses this gap in knowledge.
The majority of survey respondents agreed that in order to effectively engage consumers, there needs to be consideration of roles and expectations, recruitment, training, support, resource and remuneration issues. These were all regarded as potential barriers as much as enablers for consumer participation.
A generic procedure was developed for the effective and acceptable organisational changes that would be required to support consumer engagement in accreditation activities. This procedure has the potential to support consumer engagement in other College activities.
Final report
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In collaboration with consumer organisations, this project developed and recommended consumer information strategies to address consumer awareness of diagnostic imaging and promote informed choice, financial consent and the consumer benefits of accredited service provision.
The purpose of this project is to understand consumer and healthcare professionals’ expectations of, and experiences with DI consumer information, and identify current and likely information needs and preferences.
Phase 1 and 2 included:
A Project Initiation Phase (1 June – 30 June 2005) which required a detailed project plan and timeframe; the establishment of a Project Reference Group; and liaison with suitable organisations to conduct a nationally-representative population survey;
A Consultation Phase (1 July – 31 October 2005) requiring a literature review; consultations with key stakeholders using semi-structured interview, written survey, focus group and computer-assisted telephone survey; and
A Reporting phase (1 November – 31 December 2005) requiring the reporting of research outcomes and literature review; and a detailed work plan and timeframe for the subsequent Phase 3 and 4 of the CS4 project as proposed by the Consultants.
A Project Reference Group comprising representation from consumer organisations, the College and its Fellows was established to provide advice and commentary on the research activities, direction and interpretation of outcomes.
Australia's Health Pty Ltd
The project found that:
Consumers tend not to get information about DI; where given, it is primarily verbal
There is a need for more information about DI tests to be available
There is a preference for more information at the referral point and also through DI practice
Consumer DI information needs vary by age, gender, by type of DI, by experience, educational level, and by cultural/social factors
Information should be provided at two levels:
o Basic, which includes information on where to find more (detailed) consumer information, and provided at the time of initial referral. This should be simple, readable, accessible and part of an information and educative process
o Supplementary, more detailed information which can be accessed as desired.
State anxiety (that is transient anxiety that is generated by exposure to a stressful event, as opposed to being characteristically anxious) is high at the time of DI service, given the diagnostic context, the limited provision of insufficient information and the DI environment, which was described as impersonal and mechanistic. These factors also conspire to limit consumer ability to recall verbal information. This indicates the need to address process and environment issues.
Final report
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In collaboration with consumer organisations, to pilot consumer information strategies to address consumer awareness of diagnostic imaging and promote informed choice, financial consent and the consumer benefits of accredited service provision.
The purpose of this project is to inform and empower consumers. Consumers will be more aware of the purposes, benefits, limitations, risks, complications, distracting incidental findings and down stream costs to the community related to diagnostic imaging services. Such information will contribute to an informed choice.
Stage Two:
Finalisation of the project work plan (1 June – 30 June 2006) including agreement on plan, deliverables and budget
A Design and Development stage (1 July– 31 October 2006) which required the design and development of information materials addressing consumer and practitioner needs; and consultation with key stakeholders (especially College Fellows) on those materials
A Pilot and Evaluation stage (1 November 2006 – 30 April 2007) which required pilot testing and structured evaluation of the educational materi
A Report and Recommendation stage (1 May – 30 May 2007) which would report the collated research findings, and make recommendations to RANZCR for sustainable national strategies relating to consumer DI information, for implementation by RANZCR, ADIA, DHA and other stakeholders.
Australia's Health Pty Ltd
The result of the project surveys of referrers, DI staff and consumers indicated strong support for more information to be available to both referrers and consumers at the referral point, and at the DI practice. Consumers overwhelmingly preferred the referrer to provide this information. Giving information at the DI practice is seen as supplementary, as access may not occur until the consumer presents for the test. A major barrier to its provision is the lack of easily available, suitable information resources tailored to referrer practice, practitioner and consumer need. This project sought to understand what information stakeholders wanted. Content preferences across all stakeholders were for a comprehensive range of topics about DI, and format preferences were for plain text information sheets (rather than brochure formats) that can be printed easily at local levels. Potential consumer information materials tested as part of this project confirmed the acceptability and utility of this information and its format.
RANZCR is seen by all stakeholders as the appropriate national body to authorise, endorse and make available DI consumer information. It also sets professional standards for radiology practice in Australia and can recommend standards for DI consumer information. These factors indicate that the College is well-placed to influence the information provision behaviour of its Fellows, referring doctors, and DI practice staff. Testing of consumer satisfaction with the information materials provided would also help establish benchmarks for reviewing these practice standards.
Final report
College response
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Using the management of breast disease as the context, this project will:
Establish the current level of involvement of radiologists in MDT
Outline the barriers and enablers to radiologist participation in MDT
Explore MDT models that facilitate radiologist involvement as clinicians and an integral part of the patient treatment decision making team
Devise strategies and suggested next steps to inform radiologists and encourage their participation in MDT
Devise strategies to inform other MDT members of the value and need for radiologist involvement
It is important that RANZCR identifies the extent to which its fellows are currently involved in multidisciplinary teams, the barriers and enablers to their involvement and to consider strategies that will assist radiologists to participate more widely in what is recognised as an effective model for patient management.
The direction of this project will be to build on the evidence from National Breast Cancer Centre (NBCC) research that shows that multidisciplinary care is proven to be the best practice model of care for breast cancer, and the knowledge that MDT is recommended by the 2005 Senate Enquiry and the College as a preferred model of care for cancer patients. The critical nature of the radiologist in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer is heightened by on-going rapid and complex technological advances that make it essential for the radiologist, who is the expert in this field, to be involved in treatment decisions. QUDI research projects have already identified the referrers’ knowledge gaps in radiology and it is vital that research is undertaken to identify the extent to which radiologists are involved, as clinicians, in MDT and how this can be improved.
Environmental scan
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