For Providers

NOTICE: The payment penalty phase will not begin January 1, 2023. Until further notice, the educational and operations testing period will continue. CMS is unable to forecast when the payment penalty phase will begin.

APPROPRIATE USE CRITERIA FOR ADVANCED IMAGING

The 2014 Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA) requires that physicians ordering advanced imaging exams consult appropriate use criteria (AUC) through a qualified Clinical Decision Support Mechanism (qCDSM). Beginning January 2023, information regarding the ordering professional’s CDS consultation must be appended to the claim in order for that claim to be paid. A CMS qPLE designation permits Duke the ability to create its own AUC and interaction scores, and submit those scores to CMS to comply with PAMA. By the development and implementation of appropriate use criteria (AUC) standards, Duke aims to reduce variability in patient care and develop best clinical practices across the health system, while enhancing Duke's reputation on a local and national level.

VISIT OUR PAGE ON APPROPRIATE USE CRITERIA

 

RADIOLOGY IMAGE LIBRARY

Duke Health is connected with 196 hospitals/imaging facilities/physician offices throughout the state of North Carolina and 750 hospitals nationwide.  Through this network, we transfer 19,565 radiology studies through the “cloud” each month.  Our goal is to transfer all radiology images between hospitals and physicians electronically.

Duke Radiology Image Library processes all requests for radiology images for all of Duke Health, including Duke University Hospital, Duke Regional Hospital, and Duke Raleigh Hospital, all Duke Clinics, including urgent care and primary care practices.

RADIOLOGY UNEXPECTED FINDINGS PROGRAM

INCEPTION

Duke Health System asked the Department of Radiology to create a system to ensure that providers and patients are notified of unexpected findings that would result in harm if ignored. As we designed the workflow, Risk Management concluded that the patient must be notified separately as there is no consistent method in place to ensure that the patient has been made aware of his/her results. Our notification to the patient is an essential piece of the puzzle to ensure follow-up is achieved. The radiology unexpected findings program was established on 10/14/2019 and currently has four full-time imaging professionals in this role.

GOALS

• Assume responsibility and accountability to ensure follow-up on unexpected findings discovered within any imaging obtained in the Duke Health System
• Assist patients and providers with navigation through the process, and provide documented closed-loop communication to ensure positive patient outcomes
• Increase efficiency of follow-up care and assist in organizational goals of optimization of patient safety
• Aid patients without primary care providers to establish care and refer patients with barriers to care to resources within Duke Health and the community

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

For FAQs regarding the Radiology Unexpected Findings Program Click here

OUR TEAM: Radiology Unexpected Findings Navigators

Our team currently consists of two registered radiologic technologists and one registered diagnostic medical sonographer. They have many years of experience and expertise in Diagnostic Radiology, CT, MRI, and Ultrasound.

Julie Royster, BSRT(R) (CT) (MR) 919-660-1679 julie.royster@duke.edu

Katherine Lander, BA, RDMS, RVT 919-681-8354 katherine.lander@duke.edu

Lisa Hardister, BSRT(R) (CT) 919-681-8364 lisa.hardister@duke.edu

PHYSICIANS AND HOSPITALS OUTSIDE OF DUKE HEALTH

For the fastest service please send your request for radiology images through Powershare to Duke.  For those in our image-sharing network, images will be transferred through Powershare.  We will not continue to ship CDs since we have the ability to share images digitally.

If your organization has a Powershare account but it is not connected with Duke please contact one of our team leads so that we can add you to our network.

If you have questions regarding the possibility of transferring images using a different image transfer application please call one of our team leads.

Team Leads

1^st shift 9 am-6:30 pm 919-684-7266 or 919-695-2312
2^nd shift 3 pm-11:30 pm 919-695-2056 or 919-695-2865

Weekends 919-695-2761 or 919-684-7285

Email us at duhsimagelibrary@duke.edu

Fax: 919-684-7139

For emergent imaging requests, the main number 919-684-7274 is answered 24/7.  When prompted, press 2 to speak with a Radiology Image Library staff member.

REFERRING PHYSICIANS OUTSIDE OF DUKE

Please contact Radiology Centralized Scheduling first to order a test or procedure for your patient by calling (919) 684-7999. Once the appointment is scheduled with Centralized Scheduling, please complete our Radiology Referral Form and fax it to (919) 684-7171 to complete your order request. In addition to ordering on-site imaging services, you may also request a secondary interpretation of outside imaging studies by our Duke Sub-Specialty Radiologists.

GET A DUKE MEDLINK ACCOUNT

Duke MedLink is your connection to our EMR system. Through this secure, web-based application, you will have quick and convenient read-only access to view your patient’s medical records, place orders, and referrals, and send secure messages to Duke physicians.

Duke MedLink enables you to:

• Make a referral, place a radiology order, and track the progress of your requests.
• View your patients’ medical records within our EMR system, including visit summaries, progress notes, and results.
• Monitor and receive alerts about your patients’ care at Duke Health.
• To learn more, please read our FAQ.

Follow These Steps to Create Your Account  (Click Here)