Integrated health care delivery systems such as that pioneered by the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, have been heralded for their low-cost, high-quality care and greater efficiency. With all eyes on potential new models for health care delivery—particularly in the imaging field, where skyrocketing costs and questions about appropriate

Less than a year ago, the radiology department at the Fletcher Allen Medical Center (FAMC), Burlington, Vermont, the hospital affiliate of the University of Vermont College of Medicine, was struggling with antiquated peer-review and quality-control (QC) methods. For peer review, according to Steven P. Braff, MD, radiology department chair,

It was a difficult, but not uncommon, neuroradiology case: A patient suffered seizures, but had, a year before, been cleared of the possibility of epilepsy by a radiologist looking at an MRI study of the patient’s brain. The persistence of the symptoms suggested that the initial diagnosis had been incorrect, so Meng Law, MD, professor of radiology

On October 6, 2009, four physicians gathered in Stamford, Connecticut, to participate in a discussion moderated by Cheryl Proval, Radinformatics.com editorial director.

As the entire health care continuum comes under increased scrutiny in terms of both cost and effectiveness, radiologists and administrators alike have fresh cause to contemplate quality in the delivery of imaging services. What are the drivers of quality in radiology, and how can it be quantified, benchmarked, and ensured? As a complex radiology

While health care players and politicians have long debated the issue of medical transparency, deeper scrutiny of physician–industry relationships has produced a general consensus on one aspect of the dispute: The climate has changed.

A familiar face on exhibit floors from Chicago to Vienna and in hospital radiology departments around the world, Robert Cooke, has participated in the commercial development of PACS from its very early days. Currently vice president and general manager, network business, FUJIFILM Medical Systems, Stamford, Connecticut, Cooke has spent the past

At the 2009 annual meeting of AHRA: The Association for Medical Imaging Management in Las Vegas, Nevada, on August 12, two representatives of the ACR presented “Quality and Safety Response to National Initiatives.” The information was presented by Krista Bush, ACR director of diagnostic modality accreditation and director of the nonbreast imaging