The introduction of PACS in a hospital opens up a new world for its users. The impact of PACS on the organization is huge. The new system brings about a dramatic change in workflow, and users must invest time and effort in learning to work with it.
Imaging providers and regulators are looking for ways to demonstrate and improve quality, plus control costs. And I’m trying to explain it.
To paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of the death of diagnostic MR spectroscopy are greatly exaggerated. CPT 76390 is considered standard of care as an effective imaging technique for the diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of patients with brain lesions by Cigna Healthcare, a respected healthcare provider,1 though declared "investigational" by Blue Shield, Anthem, and Medicare. Radiologists and other physicians are confused and annoyed by some insurers' refusal to reimburse for their MRS services.
Despite the image of young snowboarders recklessly bombing downhill, the popular sport actually has no greater percentage of injuries than does skiing. Snowboarders have their own types of injuries, however, related to factors unique to the sport.
The estimation of tissue hardness and masses by palpation during a physical examination is one of the oldest methods used in medical diagnosis. Palpation was practiced by Egyptian physicians as early as 2600 BCE.
Over the past 15 years, improvements in biopsy needle design, sampling technique, and expertise of radiologists and cytopathologists have developed in concert with imaging technologies to make percutaneous needle biopsy (PNB) the most common interventional radiologic procedure. With skills refined from performing PNB, radiologists can now use a new and promising outgrowth of this technique-percutaneous tumor ablation-to safely and accurately place needles into a variety of malignant lesions to deliver local treatment.
Experts that have developed enterprise imaging strategies talked about their process at HIMSS 2015.
Ultrasound, MRI diagnose Mullerian duct anomalies in 23-year-old female. Bleeding P/V, diffuse abdominal pain 18 days; abortion pills use after 45 days of missed period.
Whether we would like to admit it or not, medical imaging is slowly on its way to becoming a commodity, which has been defined by Wikipedia as "anything for which there is a demand, but which is supplied without qualitative differentiation across a given market."
Numerous studies have shown that poorly designed reading rooms reduce radiologists' productivity, contribute to reporting errors, and increase work-related physical injuries. Even so, poorly designed reading rooms continue to be the norm rather than the exception.
The liver receives blood from arterial (20%) and venous (80%) sources. This dual blood supply means that the organ is well-suited to contrast-enhanced cross-sectional imaging.
Stroke remains a leading cause of death in the U.S. and is the principal medical cause of long-term disability, with 780,000 new or recurrent strokes occurring annually.1 Ischemic strokes related to carotid atherosclerotic disease make up almost 30% of the total.
Cancer of the lung is overwhelmingly the most common cause of U.S. lawsuits involving thoracic disease, outdistancing by far any other condition within the confines of the thoracic cavity. Conversely, failure to diagnose gastrointestinal conditions is an uncommon cause of suits against radiologists, but perforated viscus awards are much higher than those for other gastrointestinal conditions.
What topics of research occupy the minds of radiologists? Dr. Peggy Fritzsche, chair of the RSNA Research and Education Foundation, revealed the top 25 questions in biomedical imaging and radiation oncology that the radiology community wants answered during the RSNA meeting in November.
While we agree that both approaches can help manage utilization rates of imaging and reduce health care costs, we beg to strongly differ that prior notification is the better option. We have hard facts that indicate decision support is better for not only patients, but providers, health plans, and our nation.
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52-year-old asymptomatic female with family history of breast cancer presents for annual mammogram.
A 56-year-old Vietnam veteran man was admitted with a three-day history of worsening abdominal pain progressing into an acute abdomen. He had past medical history of Hepatitis C, diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure and chronic abdominal pain of unknown etiology. There was no gross bowel pathology by upper endoscopy or colonoscopy early the year of admission.
The adrenal glands are paired retroperitoneal endocrine organs. They are thin, inverted Y- or V-shaped soft tissue structures and have flat or concave margins. The vertical length of each gland may be anywhere from 2 to 4 cm. Their “limbs” are approximately 0.4 cm thick in axial cross-section, which is roughly as thin as the adjacent diaphragmatic crus.
Interest in cardiac imaging with multislice CT is growing, as evidenced by the large number of studies that have been published on this topic. Advances in cardiac MSCT have also been aided by the introduction of extremely fast, user-friendly scanners.
With increasing economic pressures and concern regarding radiation dose, a safer and comparable alternative to CT and X-ray is being sought. Ultrasound may be the answer.
Peripheral arterial occlusive disease is a chronic and progressive disease that is common in the Western world.
The widespread use of cross-sectional imaging techniques means that renal masses are now a common incidental finding. The term renal mass covers a diverse group of pathologic entities, including inflammatory, vascular, and benign tumors and neoplastic lesions. Most renal masses are simple cysts that can be characterized easily and require no treatment or follow-up. But approximately 25% to 40% of all renal cell carcinomas are diagnosed after the unexpected discovery of a renal mass.1 Around 85% of these renal cancers will be adenocarcinomas. Most of the others will be transitional cell carcinomas of the renal pelvis.
CT perfusion for stroke leaped from clinical discussion forums to the front pages in the last 13 months.
Mammography is the only screening modality that has been proven to reduce mortality from breast cancer.
Low back pain is extremely common in Western society.1 It is second only to upper respiratory illness as a symptom-related reason for visits to the doctor.2
Practice meets theory at the Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine 2008 Annual Meeting, May 15-18, in Seattle. The SIIM meeting has always provided a collegial environment for practical education and demonstration combined with the latest research and science in imaging informatics.
Several oncologic imaging modalities have evolved significantly since CT was developed in 1973. Although CT provides a noninvasive method for evaluating cancer patients, first-generation scanners were limited in their speed of data acquisition and spatial resolution. Current multislice CT scanners can evaluate a patient completely, with exquisite anatomic detail, in as little as 15 to 30 seconds.
With big data comes big responsibility, but radiologists can benefit from the continuing big data trend.