Imaging Informatics | November 2018

Updated Joint Commission requirements have left healthcare providers across the United States working to standardize imaging protocols and analyze why some CT exams exceed predetermined radiation dose thresholds.

The authors of a new study in Academic Radiology developed a clinical decision support (CDS) algorithm to help physicians reduce overutilized imaging examinations in the emergency department (ED). The physicians, however, consistently disregarded its recommendations.

The idea of implementing a “deconstructed PACS”—using multiple vendors for key solutions such as your PACS, VNA and viewers—was gaining huge momentum among imaging providers as recently as a few years ago. Now, however, providers are moving away from a best-of-breed approach to its imaging solutions and embracing a single-source approach.

Wikipedia contains a significant number of articles and images that could be incorporated into the Patient-Oriented Radiology Reporter (PORTER) initiative, according to new research published in the Journal of Digital Imaging. This could then help patients understand the information included in their radiology reports. 

Incomplete thyroid ultrasound (US) radiology reports cause "confusion and discrepancy" among specialists about the risk of malignancy and the necessity of biopsy, according to findings reported in the American Journal of Roentgenology.

A natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning algorithm was trained to evaluate variability in both free-text radiology reports and structured radiology reports, according to new research published in Current Problems in Diagnostic Radiology. The variation was more prevalent in free-text reports.

Decision support (DS) systems based on artificial intelligence (AI) can improve the diagnostic performance of radiologists, but what’s the best way to integrate those DS systems into a reader’s workflow? Researchers tested two different reading methodologies, sharing their findings in the Journal of Digital Imaging.

Implementing locally developed appropriate use criteria (AUC) as clinical decision support (CDS) could help reduce unnecessary imaging for emergency department (ED) patients with renal colic, according to new research published in the American Journal of Roentgenology.

Though the combination of PACS and electronic medical records (EMRs) have given ordering providers a chance to look at images and radiology reports themselves, many are still not reviewed, according to a new case study published in the Journal of the American College of Radiology.