Streamlining interaction between imaging departments and referring clinicians not only saves time, lives, and duplicate studies, but can also improve productivity. One of the most powerful new approaches to eliminating the physical and networking barriers to image sharing is the use of cloud computing.

As someone who has found himself—more than once—in a mad dash to catch the day’s last FedEx® pickup so that an out-of-town physician could have a patient’s images stat, Tom Hasley sees the wisdom of a cloud-based solution to image delivery. Hasley is systems support manager, ambulatory services, for Rex Healthcare (Raleigh, North Carolina), and he

Patients are at the center of control in an ongoing effort by the RSNA to standardize the way that medical images are shared on the Internet. In August 2011, The RSNA Image Share Network started enrolling its first patients to have images and reports stored electronically, through an online network accessible anywhere in the world.

Much has been written about improving quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) in radiology, but little attention has been paid to the processes for which the technologist is responsible—in spite of the technologist’s critical role in ensuring that imaging devices are properly calibrated. Nikunj Desai, algorithms developer for iCRco

In making the decision to take or pass on a new hospital contract, radiology groups often let emotion supersede reason, Jana Landreth, CPA, director of practice management at Medical Management Professionals, Inc (MMP), Atlanta, Georgia, explains. “The factor that most often challenges these decisions is emotion,” she says. “It manifests itself as

Whether an entity is being partnered or acquired, up-front money is always the first consideration. While no one denies the importance of dollars, Todd J. Sorensen, a partner at VMG Health (Nashville, Tennessee), warns his clients that even the most lucrative deals can go sour if cultures clash and operational issues make life miserable.

On September 1, 2011, the Joint Commission issued a Sentinel Event Alert related to radiation dose from diagnostic imaging. “If a patient receives repeated doses, harm can occur as the cumulative effect of those multiple doses over time,” the alert states. “Conversely, using insufficient radiation may increase the risk of misdiagnosis, delayed

As health care continues to struggle with a hobbled economic outlook, few aspects of operations have remained unscathed—and those include the financial processes related to the acquisition of new imaging equipment, according to Mark Hoffman, senior vice president of the health-care group at Key Equipment Finance (Superior, Colorado). “In the past