CAR - Canadian Association of Radiologists

The Canadian Association of Radiologists is the national specialty association for radiologists, dedicated to medical imaging excellence in patient care

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Referral Guidelines

2021-2022 Diagnostic Imaging Referral Guidelines

UPDATE: As of June 2021, two Expert Panels (EP) have been recruited and work is currently underway to update the guideline recommendations. The Trauma EP is co-chaired by Dr. Nicolas Murray (Vancouver General Hospital) and Dr. Ferco Berger (Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre). The Musculoskeletal EP is chaired by Dr. Kawan Rakhra (The Ottawa Hospital).

Background

In January 2021, the CAR, in collaboration with the Canadian Medical Association through an unrestricted sponsorship grant, is supporting the integration of diagnostic imaging referral guidelines into electronic Clinical Decision Support (CDS) systems in Canada.

The national diagnostic imaging referral guidelines are being developed in consultation with the radiology community and members from allied professionals’ groups such the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians (CAEP), the College of Family Physicians of Canada, the Society of Rural Physicians of Canada, Choosing Wisely and the Nurse Practitioner Association of Canada (NPAC).

The CAR has established a Referral Guidelines Working Group (WG) co-chaired by Dr. Ryan Margau (Chief and Medical Director, Medical Imaging, North York General Hospital) and Dr. Paul Pageau (Director, Point of Care US, Department of Emergency Medicine, The Ottawa Hospital), who will provide leadership and oversight on this project in collaboration with 16 other WG members from across Canada.

Mandate

Canada’s radiology community and its referring clinicians will develop a comprehensive set of evidence-based, peer-reviewed referral guidelines to support clinical decision-making by referring clinicians. The primary objective is to promote the most appropriate diagnostic imaging procedure(s), so that patients receive these procedure(s) at the right time, resulting in better health outcomes.

In addition to the integration into CDS systems, these guidelines will be made freely available to enhance care and enable communication among physicians.

2012 CAR Diagnostic Imaging Referral Guidelines

Referral Guidelines at a Glance

2018 Symposiums on DI Referrals and Appropriateness and CDS systems

The CAR convened two events in 2018 on diagnostic imaging referral guidelines, appropriateness, and electronic CDS systems. The goal was to open lines of communication and collaboration on issues and strategies related to imaging referrals and quality improvement.

January 2018 Symposium Report

June 2018 Symposium Report