Reston, Va. (April 1, 2015) – Radiology professionals can continue to use the American College of Radiology (ACR) National Radiology Data Registry (NRDR™) to meet quality reporting requirements under the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS). The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has renewed NRDR’s status as a Qualified Clinical Data Registry (QCDR).

With the endorsement of low-dose CT (LDCT) screening for lung cancer in high-risk individuals by the United States Preventive Services Task Force, as well as the decision by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to approve Medicare coverage of the test, it is clear that LDCT lung cancer screening will become widespread.

McKesson’s business performance services division has won the business of Elmhurst Radiologists, a 12-doc practice operating within 259-bed Elmhurst Memorial Hospital, part of the three-hospital Edward-Elmhurst system outside Chicago.

Two mandates are driving U.S. healthcare policy: improving quality and reducing costs. At vRad, leadership has embraced these concepts and integrated them into its corporate mission.

Emergency room doctors are ordering CT and MRI exams that may be unnecessary because of fears of malpractice lawsuits, according to an article in the journal Academic Emergency Medicine. 

Despite increasing concerns about ionizing medical radiation and medical imaging, as well as numerous reports in the media over the last several years on the subject, a study in the journal Radiology has found that benefit/risk discussions about ionizing radiation from imaging are few and far between and seldom initiated by clinicians.

Natural language processing can be used to track the quality of colonoscopies and to determine the appropriate intervals between procedures, according to a study carried out by researchers at the Regenstreif Institute in Indianapolis.

The performance of a radiologist when interpreting screening mammography varies according to which mammographic technologist performs the examination, according to a study in March issue of Academic Radiology.