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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Chicago rad uses CT on baseball from Cubs' 1907 World Series win

A Chicago-area radiologist CT-scanned a ball used in the 1907 World Series, won by the Cubs, and found it had no core—proving true an urban legend about cheating that had circulated for years.

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How to use simple checklists to decrease technologist error rates

A simple error-tracking program improved technologists’ image capture at a level 1 trauma center, according to an article published in the Journal of the American College of Radiology.

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Community hospital's incident learning system reduces errors, near misses

A small community hospital in the Quad Cities area of Illinois and Iowa implemented an incident learning system in its radiation oncology department, realizing 35 to 40 percent decreases in errors and near misses. All it took was a simple reporting program along with the time and dedication of a safety committee including physicians, physicists, dosimetrists, therapists, nurses and office coordinators.

Teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate all it takes to manage biopsy pain

Adding a small amount of sodium to the local anesthetic used in image-guided breast biopsies can significantly reduce injection pain, according to an article published in the Journal of the American College of Radiology.

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Mammograms generated from DBT accurately represent density

Synthetic 2D mammograms built from digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) imaging don’t change or mask the effects of breast density, soothing industry concerns about obfuscation according to a study published in the American Journal of Roentgenology.

Parents support age restrictions for indoor tanning, linked to increased risk of skin cancer

After collecting data from a group of parents, researchers from Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute found that almost two-thirds of parents agreed with policies to ban indoor tanning for those under the age of 18, due to risks including skin cancer.

Have-A-Heart campaign advocates for radiation safety in children with heart disease

The Have-A-Heart campaign has recently been launched by the Image Gently Alliance, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and a coalition of pediatric medicine and cardiology organization, addressing the issue of radiation safety in children with heart disease.

Improving radiology reports for readability

With highly complex medical documents greatly mismatched with patient literacy levels, a team of researchers set out to test a simplified “grade vs. length” readability metric developed based on results from factor analysis of 10 readability metrics applied to more than 500,000 radiology reports.

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Around the web

Health Imaging
Nearly $800,000 settlement offered to family of man who died during MRI exam

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

Cardiovascular Business
Global shortage of nuclear imaging isotopes may be over

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.

Cardiovascular Business
‘A huge win’: CMS significantly increases Medicare payments for cardiac CT

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.