Quality improvement in radiology: white paper report of the Sun Valley Group meeting.

The Sun Valley Group is an informal assembly of individuals interested in improving quality in radiology. Its first meeting was held in September 2005. The purposes of the meeting was to share quality improvement experiences, consider a strategy for promoting quality improvement initiatives across the radiology profession, and initiate quality benchmarking efforts. Representatives from private practice, academia, national quality programs, and international societies were in attendance. Four main themes were presented: the sharing of leading quality activities in radiology, the future of pay-for-performance systems, programs and future initiatives of professional radiology societies, and health services research guidelines for developing outcome metrics. This white paper summarizes information presented in each of these thematic areas and concludes with the group's plans for future activities. Among these is a formal educational program for all radiologists interested in implementing a quality improvement program within their practice, to be hosted by the ACR.