Quality

The focus of quality improvement in healthcare is to bolster performance and processes related to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Leaders in this space also ensure the proper selection of imaging exams and procedures, and monitor the safety of services, among other duties. Reimbursement programs such as the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) utilize financial incentives to improve quality. This also includes setting and maintaining care quality initiatives, such as the requirements set by the Joint Commission.

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Radiologists see benefits in using a 13-button mouse for day-to-day tasks

Could using a non-conventional mouse help make workstations more efficient? When a group of radiologists gave a programmable, 13-button mouse a two-day test run, many reported that they liked using it more than their previous mouse, according to a new study published by the Journal of Digital Imaging.

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Mammography plus tomosynthesis detects 90% more cancers than mammography alone

Combining traditional digital mammography with tomosynthesis detects 90 percent more breast cancers than mammography alone, Italian researchers reported in Radiology this month—but the jury is still out on whether the benefits of combining screenings outweigh any clinical risks. 

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Women who undergo mammography more likely to pursue additional preventive health services

Medicare beneficiaries who undergo mammography are much more likely to utilize other preventive health services such as cervical cancer screening or osteoporosis screening, according to a new study published by Radiology.

Radiologists are stretched thin—and it’s affecting the next generation's education

Radiology education has made substantial progress since its debut in the medical sphere, but students and faculty alike continue to suffer from communication barriers, high burnout risks and a lack of defined roles in the classroom, a group of administrators wrote in a compiled advice column for the Journal of the American College of Radiology.

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‘We beat the empathy out of them’: 5 tips for training a generation of radiologists to avoid burnout

In an era where half of U.S. physicians are, in some way, professionally burned out, medical program directors and administrators are looking for ways to prevent the current generation of medical students from meeting a similar fate—and they’re finding the problem might be rooted in education.

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How radiologists can improve image quality with dual-energy CT

Dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) is growing in popularity as a higher-quality alternative to single-energy CT, but, as a pair of researchers wrote in the current edition of Radiologic Clinics in North America, the method has a long way to go.

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Are orbit shields in CT perfusion worth the reduced radiation dose?

Though designed to reduce radiation exposure during CT perfusion, orbit shields can cause more harm than good to neuroradiology patients, Swiss researchers reported this week. The shields, meant to be preventive, could be rendering whole brain scans diagnostically useless.

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Safety checklists can help radiologists provide better care during severe contrast reactions

Using a contrast reaction management checklist reduces the number of mistakes radiologists make during simulated severe contrast reactions, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Roentgenology.

Around the web

The patient, who was being cared for in the ICU, was not accompanied or monitored by nursing staff during his exam, despite being sedated.

The nuclear imaging isotope shortage of molybdenum-99 may be over now that the sidelined reactor is restarting. ASNC's president says PET and new SPECT technologies helped cardiac imaging labs better weather the storm.

CMS has more than doubled the CCTA payment rate from $175 to $357.13. The move, expected to have a significant impact on the utilization of cardiac CT, received immediate praise from imaging specialists.