Julie Morse's Blog – February 2017 Archive (16)

There is an undoubtedly growing interest in interventional oncology. The burgeoning field, which only took root about a decade ago, is based on the practice of minimally-invasive procedures and therapies on patients who require little recovery time. The practice usually focuses on cancer treatment through image diagnosis — via x-ray, MRI, PET scan, CT scan, or ultrasound. In response to the surge of attention, the board of directors for the World Conference on Interventional Oncology (WCIO)…

Making a diagnostic error is something that many radiologists will grapple with in their careers. According to a study from Johns Hopkins University School Medicine, nearly 75 percent of all medical malpractice suits against radiologists are pursued on the basis of diagnostic errors.  

The study’s researchers attribute overwhelming work responsibilities, increased expectations, bureaucratic protocol, and cognitive biases to diagnostic errors in the field. Cognitive errors are…

Work is stressful, we can all agree. Radiologists face a never-ending to-do list, and scrambling to get everything done on time is the perfect recipe for stress. Yet, in terms of burn out rates, radiologists are not as susceptible to letting stress get to them as other specialists. According to a 2016 Medscape poll, radiology had a 50 percent burn out rate, and ranked tenth in the most ‘burned…

1. You like it. Being happily engaged with your work will usually amount to some success. Radiology requires enthusiasm for lots of reading, health technology, anatomy, physics, and clinical medicine, and those are just the basics of what you should enjoy in the field.

2. You’re dedicated. If you don’t think you’ll ever be ready to let go over the resident routines, and you get fired up by the notion of 20 to 30 hours a week of reading, then your level of…

The doctor-patient relationship isn’t always smooth sailing. The exam room is a vulnerable space for patients where some feel like their health is being scrutinized. Others complain that they don’t get enough face time with their physician, take for example this one 2013 study that found medical interns only spend 12 percent of their working hours in direct service with their patients. However, radiologists might be outlier in the…

A team of Stanford University researchers are on track to giving smartphones the power to diagnose skin cancer. In a study published in Nature, researchers used a Google-created algorithm to identify and diagnose more than 2,000 different types of skin diseases using

129,450 clinical images.

In the U.S. alone, there are about 5.4 million new cases of skin cancer discovered every…

Electronic health records (EHR) streamline physician and patient interactions, and they’re the easiest way to access a patient’s medical history, medications, and radiology images. The original initiative behind EHRs was to create more efficient medical care, and ultimately reduce costs. Yet, a recent study from Stanford University and the National Bureau…

Although the number of women in medicine is growing, the number of female radiologists remains stagnant. According to a study published in the American Journal of Roentgenology, there is a gender imbalance in academic radiology. The team of researchers surveyed 51 prominent academic radiology faculties and found that only 34 percent of academic radiologists are female, and of that group, only 25 percent are vice…

 The hard truth is most physicians will face a lawsuit at least once in their career. In comparison with other specialties, radiologists rank in the middle in terms of their work being vulnerable to error. According to recent Medscape poll, 84 percent of radiologists 54-years-old and younger who responded had been involved in at least one malpractice lawsuit, that figure was even higher for…

MEDNAX, Inc, the nation-wide mega conglomerate of mainly neonatal services, has recently acquired Radiology Alliance, PC, the largest private radiology group in Tennessee. This is an unsuspected purchase for MEDNAX, Inc., as the medical group with headquarters in Florida mainly specializes in teleradiology through VRAD, neonatal, maternal-fetal, pediatrics, and anesthesia. Yet, the acquisition is apart of the group’s initiative to expand and streamline their services. This is also a signal…

Safety conditions have come a long way in radiology. Back in the day, radiologists who graduated before 1940 were susceptible to increased mortality rates from diseases such as myeloid leukemia, myelodysplastic syndrome, melanoma, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, all conditions related to radiation exposure. Before the emerging of technical advancements in machinery and radiation protection, radiologists were more frequently exposed to low and moderate doses of radiation, and thus in danger of…

A misdiagnosis isn’t a mistake radiologists can just let go of. In fact, it’s one of the most concerning and anxiety provoking issue that comes with practicing medicine. According to a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, 90 percent of radiologists have faced a malpractice lawsuit at least once in their career. Incorrect breast cancer diagnosis is the most common reason why patients sue — at 3.57 claims per 1,000 patients, according to…

Don’t blink, you might miss important information. That’s especially true if you’re a radiologist. According to a meticulous report from Finnish researchers, a radiologist’s eye movements determines the quality of their CT interpretations.

Researchers evaluated 15 early residents with no more than a year and a half of experience in abdominal CT radiology, 14 advanced residents with…

Performing Lung cancer screening on high-risk patients with low-dose computed tomography (CT) presents logistical challenges and potentially harmful results, says a new study from the Lung Cancer Screening Demonstration Project.

Researchers surveyed more than 93,000 primary care patients for lung cancer screening criteria at eight Veterans Health Administration facilities across the country. Out of that group, 2,106 were between the ages of 55 and 80 years-old, current or former heavy…

Who knew MRIs could be cute? Researchers from the University of Sheffield, GE Healthcare, NHS Foundation Trust, the Sheffield Teaching Hospital, and the Wellcome Trust collaborated to bring us a miniature FMI scanner for newborns. The scanner is only one of two in existence, and was recently installed at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital’s Jessop Wing in South Yorkshire, England. The other is stationed at Boston Children’s Hospital but is not in use.

Around the size of…

Imagine capturing high-definition, detailed images of the human body without being invasive. Emerging technology from University of California San Francisco’s (UCSF) Imaging Lab might be doing exactly that. Judy Yee, MD, professor and Vice Chair of the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, has worked towards developing a virtual holography CTC scan that produces comprehensive holograms of the human anatomy.

The virtual holography CTC produces two-thirds less…