Sacramento, Calif.-based UC Davis Health is using an AI tool to improve colonoscopy quality and measure physician performance.
Embedded in Epic, the tool analyzes pathology reports to identify adenomatous polyps and calculate adenoma detection rates, a key quality metric. It replaces manual data entry, which often resulted in incomplete tracking, according to an April 8 system news release.
Adenoma detection rate has been linked to patient outcomes: For every 1% increase in a physician’s detection rate, a patient’s risk of developing colorectal cancer after a colonoscopy drops by about 3%, and the risk of death falls by approximately 5%, UC Davis Health said.
Physicians can use the tool to compare their performance against national benchmarks and department averages. When rates fall below targets, the department will “work collaboratively to identify opportunities for improvement,” according to the release.
The approach is intended to support earlier detection of precancerous polyps and strengthen quality measurement across the health system.
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