About
The QuADRANT project has been funded by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Energy and aims to support Member States in implementing Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom on Basic Safety Standards (BSS) and to advance quality and safety of medical radiation applications in the context of the SAMIRA initiative. The project has reviewed the status of implementation of clinical audit – which is a key BSS Directive requirement in medicine – in Member States, to identify good practices, and develop guidance and recommendations. The project concluded in July 2022 and the resulting Recommendations and Guidance will be published in late-2022 as part of the European Commission’s Radiation Protection Series.
QuADRANT started in January 2020 and was led by the European Society of Radiology (ESR) together with the European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM) and the European SocieTy for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO) as consortium partners. The ESR, along with EANM and ESTRO, works collaboratively with other organisations, including national and specialist societies and via their departmental and individual memberships, to promote and enhance Basic Safety Standards Directive (BSSD) 2013/59/Euratom compliance, and support clinical audit practice. An updated guide on Clinical Audit (Esperanto) and accompanying Audit Tool was launched at the European Congress of Radiology in Vienna in 2019. This publication has a strong emphasis on clinical audit, outlining the principles and practice of audit. The accompanying audit tool contains 30 bespoke audit templates, the majority dedicated to radiation protection. The Eurosafe Imaging Calls for Action have been another key initiative in the promotion of safe European practice in the field of radiation protection. Recent ESR surveys amongst European radiology departments and also national radiology societies have, however, confirmed that BSSD compliance, integration of processes of clinical audit/re-audit, and the development of external audit networks remain inconsistent across Member States.
QuADRANT aims to promote constant improvement in quality and safety of radiology, radiotherapy and nuclear medicine through the implementation of clinical audit as part of Member States’ healthcare systems. More specifically, the project
a) reviewed the status of implementation of clinical audits in the Member States;
b) identified good practices in Member States and available guidance and resources for clinical audits, at national, European and international level;
c) has provided further guidance and recommendations on improving the implementation and integration of clinical audits into national healthcare systems;
d) has identified potential for further coordinated EU action on quality and safety of radiology, radiotherapy and nuclear medicine.
As part of a series on Quality & Safety, an Open Access Session to promote and discuss the QuADRANT project’s findings has been scheduled on 2nd March 2023 from 10:30-12:00 at the ECR 2023.
Additionally, a free-to-view Studio Session on Clinical Audit entitled ‚Clinical Audit: Where We Are and Where We Need to Go“ will be held at ECR on 4th March 2023 from 14:00-14:20.