Bradley M. Tipler, MD

I have an elderly, demented aunt in California for whom I am the responsible decision maker. Up until a few years ago, Aunt Doris was an intelligent, powerful, and forceful woman.

I enjoy historical novels. Three of my favorites are London, The Forest, and Pillars of the Earth. One of the details I enjoy is the names.

I live on an organic farm. Not that I'm a huge believer in organic farming, but my wife is. We have cows, chickens, dogs, cats, and more species on the way.

Recently, there has been some debate in the radiology literature about the demise of general radiology, and with it people like me: general radiologists.

It is interesting to hear advocates of healthcare reform describe their vision because big changes seldom go as predicted.

You are a bank teller. Someone points a gun at you and demands all the money in your drawer.

Two years ago, my 70-yearoldfather-in-law decided his3500-square-foot house wastoo big and his household neededto downsize.

Like most radiology groups, mine is a diverse collection. This is good. It allows us to hear a wide range of approaches to any given problem, some of which are novel and some stupid.

For as long as I can remember, both the American College of Radiology and the RSNA have emphasized communicating with patients. Personal contact and face time are the best ways. Clearly written instruction sheets, detailed descriptions of procedures, videotapes of complex interventions, and websites offering even more information are also available. In the case of mammography, the government has even mandated that a result letter be given to every patient.

Predictions come true in far-sighted industry memo brought to light in muckraking coup

My goals and objectives while attending the annual RSNA meeting have evolved over the years. I used to cram my daily schedule with refresher courses and scientific paper sessions.

Profession may lose its best prospects just as a sea change promises to transform it

Radiologist and NIH director Dr. Elias Zerhouni gave yet another talk on trends in the imaging sciences at the 2007 RSNA meeting. He deserves special attention, since he is probably the only radiologist at the meeting who can actually direct those trends. I can talk about trends all day, but I have trouble controlling my seven- and nine-year-old sons.

Wednesday is always my last day at the RSNA. I have tried in the past to stay the whole week, but Thursday and Friday I was a zombie. I wish I could go the distance, because some of the best sessions come at the end.

Radiologist and NIH director Dr Elias Zerhouni gave yet another talk on trends in the imaging sciences. He deserves special attention, since he is probably the only radiologist at the meeting who can actually direct those trends. I can talk about trends all day, but I have trouble controlling my seven- and nine-year-old sons.

I don’t know if it is my own insecurity or a real phenomenon, but I feel like corporate America is creeping further into radiology, and most of my life, every year. The number of teleradiology companies continues to expand, and now two of them are publicly held. Every year, more of us become employees of for-profit firms.

Coming to the annual RSNA meeting is exciting and invigorating, usually, but not today. Today, it just made me feel old.

Some years ago, we converted everything but mammography to PACS. It was the best move our department ever made. Recently, we finished the change by converting to digital mammography. I've had more fun at funerals.

I'm not sure why, but I think this year had the best opening day of any RSNA meeting I can remember. Maybe it's because the weather in Chicago was beautiful. Maybe getting lucky and picking up several nice Christmas presents for my family, in just a couple of hours of shopping, is the reason.

My wife recently underwent some minor cryosurgery. She was sore that night, so she Googled the procedure. I found her frantically surfing the Internet. It says on all three sites I've read that the cryoprobe should be held in place for three minutes, off for two minutes, and then on for three more minutes. John froze mine for five minutes straight. I'm afraid he did it wrong.

Insurers can set your head to spinning fast

From a business standpoint, many decisions by hospital administrators make little sense

Monday the convention seemed like old times. Apparently, most U.S. radiologists waited until Sunday to come to the meeting, as I saw far more recognizable faces the second day. I guess they like leftover turkey more than I do.

Today, the RSNA won. This meeting can be exhausting. Surprisingly, I did far less at night this year than I have done in the past. Maybe that’s my problem -- I didn’t party enough. There's always next November to test my hypothesis.

Once again, I spent much of the day in a case-based review course, this one on interventional radiology. In my practice, we have one real interventional radiologist and two pseudo-interventionalists. The prime difference being that a real interventional radiologist knows what he’s doing. The other big difference is an IR enjoys what he is doing.

In years past I have always come to Chicago on Saturday. This year friends planned their wedding for Saturday, so I changed my plans and booked an early flight Sunday from their city to get me here before noon. Last week the bride-to-be called the wedding off, so I got up really early this morning to drive past several airports on the way to my flight. I was not happy, but I figure I’m still better off than the would-be groom.

At the beginning of each year, our group's accountant gives me a summary of my retirement plan's current value and performance for the year. Thanks to the recovery of the stock market, and figuring in my cost of living and current debt, I can finally plan on retiring from radiology. I'll be 96 years old. Obviously, the future of our specialty is important to me.

About once a month, we get asked to do an upper gastrointestinal exam on a patient who exceeds our table's 400-pound weight limit. It seems to me that anyone who weighs 400-plus pounds must not be having stomach trouble. Yet these patients seem perplexed, as if the underlying problem weren't draped over their belt. I have trouble as a physician dealing with diseases that appear self-inflicted.