Rebekah Moan

The risks for individual imaging services are low, but radiologists should not be surprised by a visit from a representative of Medicare’s inspector general’s office to investigate the medical necessity of emergency room scans or their imaging center billing patterns.

Radiologists are working approximately five more hours every week, but they also take 12 more vacation days a year, according to a survey from the American College of Radiology.

The number of applications for the iPhone has skyrocketed and medicine-related applications are coming online at a rapid pace. Four new applications have been developed specifically for medical professionals, some of which will aid radiologists as well as referring physicians.

Technologists performing imaging and radiation therapy procedures will need to meet new certification standards under a bill pending in Congress.

Swine flu patients are at risk of developing severe complications, such as pulmonary emboli, according to University of Michigan researchers. Most chest x-rays come back normal, so it’s especially important for radiologists to look closely for risks of blocked arteries in the lungs.

Payments for equipment utilization and the appropriateness of many emergency department scans will come under review by the Office of Inspector General under a fiscal year 2010 work plan.

BI-RADS descriptors for breast MRI can help determine the risk of malignancy for lesions detected only on MRI, according to a study from the University of Washington. The findings offer a scientific model that may predict malignancy in otherwise occult lesions.

MRI, possibly employing higher field strengths and dedicated breast coils, should be used more often for detecting ductal carcinoma in situ, according to a panel convened by the National Institutes of Health.

Nearly 70% of cancers found in Mexico’s first breast cancer screening program were in women younger than 60 years old, the reverse of the pattern seen in the U.S. and other developed countries.

Brain injuries invisible on CT and MRI, and apparent only in cognitive testing, can be revealed with diffusion tensor imaging, a study concludes.

Ultrasound is an effective way to monitor lymph node recurrence after breast cancer surgery, South Korean researchers report.

Pelvic radiographs are extraneous overkill when it comes to imaging assault victims since most patients get a CT scan anyway, according to University of Maryland researchers.

A new outreach program allows radiologists from around the world to view selected practical educational articles from peer-reviewed journals online at no charge.

A 40-year-old woman walked into Elizabeth Wende Breast Care in upstate New York for her yearly screening mammogram.

The largest population-based study to date comparing film-screen mammography and full-field digital mammography has found the digital approach is superior for visualizing microcalcifications deemed crucial to diagnosing ductal carcinoma in situ. No other significant difference in the diagnostic capabilities of the digital and analog approaches was identified.

Radiologists have felt the effects of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 far more than nonradiologist imagers, according to a study in the Journal of the American College of Radiology.

Nonelderly adults are exposed to excessive doses of radiation from medical imaging procedures for which clinical data are lacking, according to reports published today in the New England Journal of Medicine. Radiologists and others familiar with the reports, including the American College of Radiology, cautioned against giving them too much credence.

A review article asserting breast MRI does not improve surgical planning, reduce follow-up surgeries, or reduce the risk of local recurrences is drawing fire in the breast imaging community.

When it comes to determining the cause of death for fetuses, parents may have another option besides conventional autopsy. Whole-body high-field MRI offers a reliable option for postmortem exams in a less invasive way, according to British researchers.

For years it’s been argued apologizing for medical errors would reduce the number of malpractice lawsuits. A comment published in a law journal argues an apology is less important than honesty and a dedicated quality improvement program in reducing malpractice payouts.

Honest people don't struggle with themselves about whether they should tell the truth when given the opportunity to lie, as shown in an fMRI brain study of truth telling and prevarication from Harvard University behavioral scientists.

SNM’s Clinical Trials Network has expanded to include relationships with European PET radiopharmaceutical manufacturing sites to support molecular and nuclear imaging facilities on the continent that are gearing up to perform scientific studies for the program.

Massachusetts General Hospital researchers are using automated MRI software to detect individuals in the preclinical phase of Alzheimer’s disease with 95% accuracy, according to a cohort study.

The number of technologists taking primary certification exams has hit a plateau with the growth trend seen over the last eight years flattening out, according to the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists.

A prominent Danish researcher is continuing to question the value of screening mammography, reporting in a new study that one in three breast cancers is overdiagnosed.

Older women who take a short break from hormone therapy do not experience fewer false positives on their screening mammograms than women who continue to take the drugs, though a suspension is associated with small changes in breast density.

Radiologists’ compensation grew 2.55% in 2008, which is slightly more than the 2.19% gain for all medical specialties, according to the annual Medical Group Management Association compensation and production survey.

Before she began using coding and billing computer applications developed specifically for radiology, Yvonne Moncovich, director of operations at Straightline Medical in Wilmington, NC, employed more people, struggled with an import/export function, and manually input data. Usually more than once.

Patients who experience pain in the lower back are more likely to get an x-ray or CT scan within 28 days if their primary physician works in a larger practice as opposed to a smaller facility, according to a study by the Center for Studying Health System Change. The center also found that patient satisfaction incentives encourage unnecessary imaging.