Standards of radiology practice: an approach to development.

Assessment and accountability will be issues shaping the health care system in the United States during the next decade. Qualitative and, more important, quantitative information will be essential elements in the process. This information will need to be viewed in the light of the expectations of radiologists. These expectations may be referred to as guidelines, standards, or practice parameters. If radiologists wish to be active participants in the process rather than passive observers, they need to develop their own standards of practice. For the development of standards, the authors propose a unifying approach based on the concept of components of radiology service and the service as a whole. The concept provides a flexible framework for building a list of standards. This list may be shortened or expanded in response to available resources and changing practice patterns.