VCU Radiology Earns Diagnostic Imaging Center of Excellence Designation

The VCU Health Radiology Department has earned the prestigious Diagnostic Imaging Center of Excellence (DICOE) designation by the American College of Radiology (ACR) for five imaging centers: the Adult Outpatient Pavilion, Gateway, Main Hospital, Short Pump Pavilion, and Stony Point 9000. Among adult imaging centers, VCU Health is the only health system to achieve the designation in Richmond, the only academic medical center in Virginia and one of only 16 academic medical facilities in the United States.

“Our Department can take great pride in this achievement, as this designation is validation of our ongoing commitment to quality care, patient safety and efficiency,” said Ann S. Fulcher, M.D., chair of the VCU Department of Radiology. “Radiology plays a significant role in health care so this one-of-a-kind recognition elevates both our staff, who are often behind the scenes, and the VCU Health System.”

The DICOE designation, a three-year status, includes a comprehensive assessment of the entire medical imaging enterprise, including structure and outcomes. This elite distinction recognizes excellence at multiple levels, including staff professionalism, technology, policies and procedures and patient care. Facilities with the DICOE designation must be accredited by the ACR in all modalities they provide, and in which the ACR offers an accreditation program. Another requirement is to participate in the Dose Index Registry, Lung Cancer Screening, Image Wisely and Image Gently initiatives.

VCU Health Radiology has more than 50 fellowship-trained physicians that support VCU Health System patients, providers and community providers. VCU Health Radiology, under the auspices of VCU Massey Cancer Center, offers nationally-recognized early detection cancer screening programs, including low-dose CT lung cancer screening, advanced prostate cancer screening, and diagnostic 3D mammography for breast cancer screening. 

The ACR, founded in 1924, is one of the largest and most influential medical associations in the United States. The ACR devotes its resources to making imaging and radiation therapy safe, effective and accessible to those who need it. ACR comprises physicians, physicists, and technology experts in radiology and is the oldest and most experienced imaging accreditation body.

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VCU Radiology Receives Exceptional Safety Culture 2021 AHRQ Survey Results

VCU Health assessed the culture of safety at the health system using the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Safety Culture Survey in July 2021. The anonymous survey ranked individual physician units in 10 categories to derive an overall safety score:

The results show the VCU Department of Radiology physicians, including attendings and residents, outperformed in all 10 categories compared to the 2021 AHRQ Database of 172 participating hospitals (87,856 respondents) and VCU Health physicians overall rankings. Radiology physicians also surpassed the national average of teaching hospitals in all 10 categories. Teaching hospitals made up 41% of the participating hospitals.

The radiology physicians earned an overall safety score of 80 percent with the highest scores in Teamwork, scoring 95 percent, and Communication Openness, scoring 89 percent. The VCU Department of Radiology physicians were in the 90^th percentile in 5 categories: Teamwork, Staffing and Work Pace, Organizational Leadership/Continuous Improvement, Responses to Error, and Communication Openness. 

The Department’s leadership attributes the high rankings to a supportive, proactive environment where physicians and staff focus on continuous improvement and problem solving. Radiology physicians are proud of the rankings and will continue efforts to improve reporting and communications while monitoring work pace and making staffing recommendations. The VCU Department of Radiology looks forward to developing new action plans that advance the VCU Health patient safety initiative.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's (AHRQ) is a federal agency charged with improving the safety and quality of the U.S. health care system. The agency’s mission, as stated on the AHRQ website, “is to produce evidence to make health care safer, higher quality, more accessible, equitable, and affordable, and to work within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and with other partners to make sure that the evidence is understood and used.”