Alessandra Simmons's Blog – March 2015 Archive (10)

Inappropriate imaging for both low-risk prostate and low-risk breast cancers were frequently performed before the initiation of the Choosing Wisely campaign, according to a study published in JAMA Oncology. Researchers from the University School of Medicine in New York, NY,…

Women invited to participate in breast cancer screening should be informed about issues related to possible overdetection of cancer, according to a study published in The BMJ. Researchers from the U.K. performed an online survey with 1,000 men and women to determine the level of overdetection people…

CHICAGO — While changes, and challenges, in the U.S. health care delivery system have typically been attributed to the Affordable Care Act, many of these changes would have happened regardless, said Thomas W. Greeson, JD, at RSNA 2014. The ACA accelerated this activity, Greeson noted, but it has long been a suspicion that the contributor, or possibly the culprit,…

Every other week, Diagnostic Imaging puts you to the test with Image IQs. You receive a little clinical history (probably more than you normally see!) and the imaging exam(s) and guess the diagnosis. Most of the time, you nail it. But sometimes, the finding is rare or the diagnosis just escapes you. So we’re giving you a second chance. We’ve gathered the five…

Breast density notification laws have been put into effect in 21 states. A breast density notification law requires that physicians notify women who have undergone mammography and were found to have dense breast tissue.

The intent of such a law was to give women the necessary information to decide on further action if they had dense breast tissue. Dense breast tissue makes it harder to identify cancer on a mammogram and may also be associated with an increased risk of breast cancer,…

Ask any of your peers, and they’ll likely agree – health care as you’ve known it is changing. The patient population has ballooned under the Affordable Care Act. Larger practices and health systems are gobbling up competitors. And, reimbursement dollars are tighter. It’s never been more important to make yourself stand out from the…

Check out this hilarious radiology comic from Diagnostic Imaging celebrating Throwback Thursday #TBT.  

Humor is a great stress reliever. Do you and your colleagues celebrate hashtag trends or incorporate other forms of humor into your work…

Magnetic resonance imaging after diagnosis of an indeterminate pelvic mass reduces the number of unnecessary surgeries or long-term follow up, according to a study published in the American Journal of Roentgenology.

Researchers from Yale University in New Haven, CT…

No one can be future-proof, but if radiologists want to have a future, they better give it a try, at least according to experts at ECR 2015. The future is an abstract challenge for radiology, no one is really sure where the radiologist fits in, or if they fit in at all.

But there’s hope, according to Dr. Nikola H. Strickland, consultant radiologist, Imperial…

If you listen to the medical community, there’s a physician shortage brewing. By 2020, the country will need 91,500 additional doctors. By 2025, that figure rises to 130,600 according to the Association of American Medical Colleges…