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.

Radiologists can reduce ABUS interpretation time by using concurrent-read CAD system

Use of a concurrent-read computer-aided detection (CAD) system when interpreting automated breast ultrasound (ABUS) examinations helps improve efficiency without negatively affecting accuracy, according to a new study published by the American Journal of Roentgenology.

Defining—and dealing with—radiology’s personality problem

Cultivating physician character in an increasingly tech-centered environment can be difficult for radiologists who are often isolated in their work, but in a medical landscape where quality patient care is key, imagers may need to venture outside of their comfort zone, a trio of Emory University radiologists wrote in Academic Radiology this May.

Thumbnail

Researchers demonstrate the power of personalizing lung cancer screening decisions for each patient

A group of researchers from the University of Michigan and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has found that clinicians can improve patient communication and potentially increase lung cancer screening program participation by personalizing the decision-making process.

Thumbnail

Lacking a web presence hurts interventional radiology residency programs

Nearly one-third of integrated interventional radiology residency programs lack a web presence, researchers reported in the American Journal of Roentgenology this month—and they could be missing out on recruiting the next generation of radiologists.

Why radiologists should think twice about RADPEER and consider nonrandom peer review

Adopting a nonrandom peer review process—and abandoning the ACR’s widely accepted RADPEER approach—could identify far more diagnostic errors in imaging studies and afford radiologists an opportunity to learn from theirs and their peers’ mistakes, researchers suggest in the current edition of the Journal of the American College of Radiology.

Thumbnail

Smartphone apps offer interactive, on-the-go learning for millennial radiology students

Integrating mobile learning into the radiology classroom via smartphone apps could offer individualized study options while supporting a more blended learning model, a pair of researchers reported in Radiography this month.

Thumbnail

Radiologists need to build trust, loyalty to find success in a value-based care system

As the industry turns increasingly toward value-based care, radiologists might want to prioritize and cultivate their professional relationships, one Texan physician wrote in the Journal of the American College of Radiology this month.

Thumbnail

‘Dry runs’ improve patient safety, reduce anxiety prior to radiotherapy

Implementing a verification simulation, or “dry run,” before a scheduled radiotherapy session could minimize possible errors and patient anxiety in the radiology suite.

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.