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RadRounds Radiology Network's Blog (797)

E-prescribing could help control medical radiation exposure

(DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING) -- There has been considerable discussion on the federal stimulus program and the impact it will have in bringing about an improved patient care model through the use of technology. This anticipates care providers having access to electronic health records (EHRs) that can communicate, or “interoperate,” with other health providers and health systems so a complete record of all a patient’s episodes of care, including pharmaceutical records, are available in real-time for… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on March 25, 2010 at 3:30pm — No Comments

Waste not, want not: Getting the most from imaging procedures

(DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING) -- The amount of data obtained in a single MR or CT scan is mind-boggling. At least some of the data radiologists throw away could save patients money while reducing their exposure to radiation and risk of complications from invasive procedures.

“The same CT or MR scans that have been performed for other indications can be used to measure epicardial fat volume,” Dr. Paolo Raggi told me. “That is why this is such an easy piece of information to… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on March 24, 2010 at 5:30pm — No Comments

Number of imaging studies jumps 65% at Winter Olympics

DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING -- Imaging studies at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games increased 65% from when they were last held in Torino, Italy. At the Vancouver games 950 imaging studies were performed, according to Dr. Bruce Forster, a professor at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and the Vancouver Organizing Committee imaging supervisor.

As previously reported, radiology played its greatest role to date at the most recent Winter Olympics, continuing to build on previous games.… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on March 23, 2010 at 5:39pm — No Comments

ACR Strongly Opposes Imaging Cuts in Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act

Washington, DC -- The ACR strongly opposes medical imaging cuts contained in The Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010 (H.R. 4872) which will shift necessary imaging care to large hospitals, increase the cost to Medicare of appropriate imaging, produce longer commutes and wait times for patients to receive care, and cause potentially life threatening… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on March 19, 2010 at 9:35pm — No Comments

Primordial and Charlotte Radiology Partner on Next-Generation Workflow

SAN MATEO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Primordial, a leading vendor of communications, workflow, quality management and analytics applications for the medical imaging market, and Charlotte Radiology, one of the largest radiology groups in the United States, announced today a partnership to deploy and further develop Primordial's applications for use by Charlotte Radiology physicians across numerous hospitals and imaging centers.

As part of the agreement, Primordial will install its… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on March 16, 2010 at 10:50pm — No Comments

Uterine Fibroid Embolization Shows Fertility Rates Comparable to Myomectomy

First Global Study Indicates Comparable Fertility Rates for Minimally Invasive UFE and “Gold Standard” Surgical Myomectomy for Women Who Want to Have Children After Uterine Fibroid Treatment

TAMPA, Fla. (March 15, 2010)—Uterine fibroid embolization, a minimally invasive interventional radiology procedure that blocks blood supply to treat painful uterine fibroids, has a comparable fertility rate to myomectomy, the surgical removal of uterine fibroids, for women who want to conceive,… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on March 15, 2010 at 11:30pm — No Comments

Young radiologists, professional challenges pose difficulties for ultrasound

(DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING) -- Too few younger practicing radiologists are prepared to embrace ultrasound and push it to its clinical limits, according to Prof. Lorenzo Derchi, a professor of radiology at the University of Genoa in Italy.

They can perform the most common examinations, but insufficient attention is given to the advancement of the modality in areas like contrast enhacement, volume ultrasound, and musculoskeletal ultrasound. And new examination techniques are often introduced… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on March 12, 2010 at 5:45pm — No Comments

Society of Interventional Radiology Hosts 35th Annual Scientific Meeting

Society of Interventional Radiology Hosts 35th Annual Scientific Meeting

Latest Advances in Minimally Invasive Medicine Featured March 13–18 in Tampa, Fla.

FAIRFAX, Va.—The Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) will present the latest research on treatments for individuals with liver, breast, soft tissue, colon, prostate, lung and pancreatic cancers; painful spinal fractures; peripheral arterial disease (PAD); uterine fibroids; and more at its 35th Annual Scientific Meeting…

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Added by radRounds Radiology Network on March 10, 2010 at 9:30pm — No Comments

ACR Launches Online Nuclear Medicine and PET Accreditation Programs

Reston, VA ─ The American College of Radiology has launched an online nuclear medicine and positron emission tomography (PET) accreditation application program that streamlines the process and significantly reduces the time it takes for nuclear medicine and PET facilities to become accredited. The ACR nuclear medicine and PET accreditation programs are the latest modalities to allow providers to apply online via the new “ACRedit” system enabling facilities to more quickly and efficiently move… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on March 10, 2010 at 10:30am — No Comments

Featured Website: Radlinks.ca

Please visit one of our new partner websites, Radlinks.ca - a new online resource focused on radiology education. You can also find their link from our Partners page.

http://www.radlinks.ca

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on March 9, 2010 at 6:00pm — No Comments

Digital Radiography Summit Focuses on Safety Measures for Pediatric Imaging

On Feb. 4, the Alliance for Radiation Safety in Pediatric Imaging expanded the Image Gently initiative (www.imagegently.org) to digital radiography exams (standard x-ray technology) by hosting a Digital Radiography Summit at the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology at Washington University in St. Louis.

The summit bought together nearly 70 representatives from medical facilities, educational institutions, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration,… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on March 9, 2010 at 10:29am — No Comments

CMS urges payment delay to defend physician payments

(DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING) -- It’s a kind of man bites dog story: unusual, remarkable, yet oddly plausible. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has told its contractors to hold claims containing services paid under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for the first 10 business days of March.

On reading this, the… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on March 7, 2010 at 4:00pm — No Comments

Will CT overtake nuclear medicine in myocardial perfusion?

(DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING) -- It’s not enough that sidelined nuclear reactors are restricting the supply of technetium for cardiac SPECT. Or that reimbursements for SPECT procedures are falling. Now the besieged modality has to contend with a challenge from CT.

Researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina say CT can… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on March 6, 2010 at 5:00pm — No Comments

ACR Sends Letter to President Urging Medicare Coverage of CT Colonography

March 2, 2010

The Honorable Barack H. Obama

President of the United States The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Northwest Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Obama,

On behalf of the 37,000 diagnostic radiologists, interventional radiologists, radiation oncologists, nuclear medicine physicians and medical physicists represented by the American College of Radiology, we would like to congratulate you on your recent physical exam and your “clean bill of… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on March 5, 2010 at 10:00pm — No Comments

Gastroenterologists bash CT colonoscopy in letter to Obama

(DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING) -- News that President Obama received a clean bill of health from a virtual colonoscopy several days ago rubbed influential gastroenterologists the wrong way.

On Monday the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) fired off a letter to the president stating that “while a ‘virtual’ exam is better… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on March 5, 2010 at 10:00pm — No Comments

Merge buys AMICAS for $248 million in cash

AMICAS Agrees to Be Acquired by Merge Healthcare for $6.05 Per Share in Cash

Combination to Create a Leading Global Healthcare IT Provider and a Pure-Play Medical Imaging Software Vendor

AMICAS to Terminate Merger Agreement with Thoma Bravo Affiliate

BOSTON & MILWAUKEE-- AMICAS, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMCS) and Merge Healthcare Incorporated (NASDAQ: MRGE) today announced that they will enter into a definitive merger agreement (the “Merge Acquisition Agreement”)… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on March 5, 2010 at 5:56pm — No Comments

Taipei hosts 2010 Asian Oceanian Congress of Radiology

(DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING) -- The Executive Committee of the Asian Oceanian Society of Radiology (AOSR) has chosen Taipei, Taiwan, as the site of the 2010 Asian Oceanian Congress of Radiology. This 13th AOCR will be held at the Taipei International Convention Center March 20-23, and all individuals with common interests in the most… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on March 4, 2010 at 10:00pm — No Comments

Chest CT scan reimburses between $550 to $3,200

A recent interesting article by BusinessWeek begins to explore the strange, mysterious, and often non-transparent world of imaging procedure reimbursement. Numerous insurers including Medicare reimburse at different rates for the same procedure and the identical patient. As more of a spotlight is focused on medical imaging and cost-effectiveness, this article is well timed to bring this issue to light for the general public. This article cites that a Chest CT scan has been reportedly been… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on March 4, 2010 at 9:55pm — No Comments

HIMSS Poll: What’s your toughest clinical data management challenge? (Sponsored by Carestream Health)

HIMSS Poll: What’s your toughest clinical data management challenge?

The Everything Rad team at Carestream Health is getting excited for the HIMSS10 conference and will be rolling out a bevy of health IT discussion content throughout the coming weeks.

To kick…

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Added by radRounds Radiology Network on March 3, 2010 at 11:54pm — No Comments

eFilm iPhone App Arrives! Merge Healthcare Launches eFilm Mobile™

New Apple iPhone® app brings eFilm Workstation® users a new world of mobile workflow

HIMSS 2010

MILWAUKEE--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Merge Healthcare (NASDAQ: MRGE), a leading health IT solutions provider, today announced the release of eFilm Mobile, an exciting new extension of the eFilm Workstation franchise. This mobile device application provides users of eFilm Workstation v3.3 secure access to worklists and studies from their iPhone® or iPod touch®, bringing many key components of… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on March 3, 2010 at 11:39pm — No Comments