From out of the blue, interventional radiology gets a moment in the sun. The April issue of Columbus CEO magazine, which covers the business scene in Central Ohio, presents a purely positive look at the profession in an upbeat feature article.
The piece points out that, thanks to IR, a lot of modern, minimally invasive interventions “are available on an outpatient basis and typically don’t involve general anesthesia. Those factors hasten recovery time, helping patients return to work and home.”
By producing such benefits, IR “yields productivity benefits for employers and savings for the healthcare system.”
The article quotes several interventional rads, including James Spain, MD, chief of IR at The Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center.
“Interventional radiology is perhaps the most interesting medical field that a lot of folks haven’t heard about,” says Spain in the article. “We invented minimally invasive. We rarely make an incision over a quarter of an inch—just a nick in the skin—and we put a Band-Aid on at the end.”
Adds John Lippert, MD, an interventional radiology and vascular specialist, “We’re talking about recovery times that in some cases are down to days and weeks instead of weeks and months. Patients are surviving conditions once thought to be life-ending and going back to their jobs, their families and a better quality of life.”
Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.