Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. System Overview
3. Key Concepts
4. Creating Peer Review Groups
5. Configuring Peer Review Rules
6. Setting Review Targets
7. Prior Relevancy Rules
8. Modality Frequency Configuration
9. User-Level Overrides
10. Radiologist Workflow
11. Adjudication Process
12. Permissions and Roles
13. Testing and Validation
14. Best Practices
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Introduction
Peer Review within NewVue enables radiology teams to review previously interpreted studies as part of a quality assurance and performance improvement program.
The system automatically identifies relevant prior studies and may prompt radiologists to complete peer review evaluations during their normal workflow.
The goal of the peer review process is to:
- Improve diagnostic quality.
- Encourage peer feedback.
- Identify training opportunities.
- Support regulatory compliance, such as ACR peer review programs.
Peer Review functionality operates through a combination of configuration components including user groups, review targets, prior relevancy rules, and workflow permissions.
System Overview
Peer Review is designed to integrate directly into the radiologist reading workflow.
When a radiologist opens a study, the system evaluates several conditions:
- Whether the radiologist belongs to a peer review group.
- Whether the study has relevant prior examinations.
- Whether the radiologist has remaining peer reviews to complete.
- Whether the prior study was interpreted by a radiologist eligible for review.
If these conditions are satisfied, the system may prompt the radiologist to perform a peer review on the prior study.
Configurable probabilities and thresholds are used to distribute peer reviews across radiologists and time periods.
Key Concepts
The Peer Review workflow uses several configuration components.
User Groups
User groups define which users participate in Peer Review. Groups do not control permissions, but instead act as reference pools used by configuration rules.
Examples include:
- Radiology Peer Review - Radiologists performing reviews.
- Senior Radiologists - Additional reviewer pool.
- Adjudication Group - Radiologists responsible for final review scoring.
Peer Review Configuration
Peer Review rules determine who reviews whom and how often reviews occur.
Review Targets
Review targets establish how many reviews should be submitted and how many times each radiologist should be reviewed.
Prior Relevancy Rules
Prior Relevancy Rules determine which prior studies qualify for Peer Review comparisons.
Creating Peer Review Groups
Peer Review groups are created and maintained through the User Groups Dictionary.
Step 1 - Navigate to the User Groups Dictionary
Dictionary → Management → User Groups
Step 2 - Create a New Group
Open the Groups tab and create the required Peer Review groups.
Example groups include:
- Radiology Peer Review - Radiologists performing reviews.
- Senior Radiologists - Additional reviewer pool.
- Adjudication Group - Radiologists responsible for final review scoring.
Step 3 - Assign Users to Groups
Navigate to the Mappings tab and add users to the appropriate groups.
Example configuration:
- Radiology Peer Review → All radiologists.
- Adjudication Group → Senior radiologists responsible for review oversight.
Groups act only as reference lists and are later used by the Peer Review configuration engine.
Configuring Peer Review Rules
Navigate to the Peer Review Configuration screen.
Each configuration row defines how Peer Review operates.
Reviewer Group
Users in this group will receive prompts to review prior studies.
Reviewee Group
Users in this group will have their reports eligible for review.
Example configuration:
- Reviewer Group: Peer Review
- Reviewee Groups: Peer Review, Peer Review 2
In this example, radiologists in the Peer Review group may review reports created by users in either configured reviewee group.
Setting Review Targets
Two key parameters control Peer Review volume.
Target Submitted
Defines how many peer reviews a user must complete within a defined interval.
Example:
- Target Submitted: 10 reviews per week.
Target Reviewed
Defines how many times a radiologist's reports should be reviewed.
Example:
- Target Reviewed: 3 reviews per week.
Balancing these targets allows Peer Reviews to be distributed across participants.
Prior Relevancy Rules
Peer Review prompts only occur when a relevant prior exam exists.
Relevant priors are defined through Prior Relevancy Rules.
Navigate to:
Prior Relevancy Configuration
Default behavior matches:
- Same modality.
- Same body part.
Examples:
- Chest CT → Chest CT prior.
- Breast MG → Breast US prior.
Advanced rules allow cross-modality comparisons when clinically appropriate.
Modality Frequency Configuration
Peer Review prompts can be adjusted based on modality frequency.
Example configuration:
- CT → 100%
- MR → 100%
- XR → 50%
If the conditions for Peer Review are met, the system performs a probability check using the configured percentage.
- A value of 100% always triggers a prompt when the exam is eligible.
- A value of 50% triggers prompts approximately half the time.
User-Level Overrides
Specific users may require different Peer Review targets.
Common scenarios include:
- New radiologist onboarding.
- Focused performance review.
- Quality monitoring initiatives.
Administrators may create user-specific configurations that override group-level targets.
Radiologist Workflow
The Peer Review process occurs naturally within the radiologist reading workflow.
When the configured Peer Review conditions are met, the system automatically provides the appropriate Peer Review prompt. Radiologists are not required to manually search for Peer Review cases.
Adjudication Process
Adjudication allows designated radiologists to review Peer Review results identified as discrepancies. Only Peer Reviews with a discrepancy are sent to the adjudication queue; reviews without a discrepancy do not require adjudication.
Adjudicators can:
- View submitted Peer Reviews requiring adjudication.
- Launch the original study.
- Adjust Peer Review scoring.
- Confirm the final classification.
Navigate to the Follow-Up tab to review Peer Review results requiring adjudication.
Permissions & Roles
Peer Review functionality requires the appropriate role permissions.
Each permission provides:
- Peer Feedback - Full Access - Allows radiologists to submit Peer Reviews.
- Peer Review Workflow Config - Full Access - Allows administrators to configure Peer Review rules.
- Peer Review Workflow Config - View - Allows read-only access to Peer Review configuration.
- Tenant Follow-Up Finding Delivery - Full Access - Allows adjudicators to review submitted Peer Reviews.
Testing & Validation
Before enabling Peer Review for all users, controlled testing is recommended.
Suggested testing approach:
- Create a test reviewer group, such as IT Peer Review.
- Create a test reviewee pool.
- Add only test users initially.
- Set modality frequencies to 100%.
- Use simple relevancy rules, such as same modality.
Testing helps verify that Peer Review prompts appear correctly and configured targets behave as expected.
Best Practices
Keep Peer Review groups simple whenever possible.
Recommended practices include:
- Start with a single Peer Review pool.
- Use adjudication groups for oversight.
- Begin testing with high prompt frequencies.
- Adjust modality percentages after the initial rollout.
- Ensure role permissions are configured before enabling Peer Review.
Proper configuration helps Peer Review integrate into daily radiology workflows without disrupting productivity.