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RadRounds Radiology Network's Blog (797)

Free 2D/3D Advanced Visualization Software for CT and MRI Now Available From FiatLux Imaging

(Redmond, WA, November 3, 2009) FiatLux Imaging, Inc. a medical software company in Redmond, WA, announces the availability of FiatLux Visualize™ Free, advanced visualization software for CT and MRI medical imaging data. The free software is available via download from www.FiatLuxImaging.com for any healthcare professional. There is no charge for download or use of the software.

“There is tremendous unrealized potential in medical imaging… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on November 10, 2009 at 10:30pm — No Comments

RSNA 2009 Image Interpretation Session

(CHICAGO) - Each year, one of the most anticipated sessions at RSNA is the Image Interpretation Session! Thousands of radiologists flock to see the best academic radiologists tackle unknown cases from all subspecialties. Who are this year's honored experts in the field of radiology?

Here is a preview of the Image Interpretation, RSNA 2009:

George Bisset MD

Norman Beauchamp MD, MHS

Thomas Berquist MD

Kenneth Buckwalter MD

Philip Costello MD

Susan… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on November 10, 2009 at 9:30pm — No Comments

House Passes Health Care Reform Bill, Imaging Cuts

(RESTON, VA) -- Shortly before midnight on Nov. 7, 2009, the U.S. House or Representatives, by a 220 – 215 vote, passed H.R. 3962, Affordable Health Care for America Act. 39 Democrats voted against the bill, which contains medical imaging reimbursement cuts, while one Republican voted in favor of passage.

The legislation includes much of the same imaging related provisions as its predecessor, H.R. 3200. Specifically, the bill includes language to increase the reduction in the… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on November 10, 2009 at 1:58pm — No Comments

RSNA 2009 Hotel Shuttle Map and Listing

(CHICAGO) -- Every year, the RSNA provides free shuttles to hotels. Save time and also plan ahead by checking here to see what line you are located along. Traveling between McCormick and the city is easy, most definitely with the free RSNA shuttles.

COMPLIMENTARY SHUTTLE BUS TRANSPORTATION:

RSNA provides complimentary shuttle bus transportation between hotels in the RSNA block and the McCormick Place Convention Center. Be sure to check signage in the hotel lobby and at McCormick… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on November 9, 2009 at 6:30pm — No Comments

"Failure to Communicate" - RSNA 2009 Mock Jury Trial Preview

(CHICAGO) - This year's RSNA 2009 will focus on a special session, specifically in the area of medicolegal issues in radiology. Jonathan Berlin MD MBA from Northwestern University will moderate and lead a "Mock Jury Trial" to illustrate and teach the fine points of malpractice issues in the field.

Dr. Berlin will address the following as cited in the RSNA news bulletin:

Has a radiologist who detects possible lung cancer on a patient's X-ray and issues a written report noting… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on November 8, 2009 at 6:30pm — No Comments

Radiology Job Market - Survey of Radiology Fellows and Residents on the Hunt

(NEW YORK) -- Times are changing in healthcare. Once upon a time, a severe shortage in radiology resulted in highly lucrative starting salaries and numerous job offers per resident. Residents and fellows finishing their radiology training had no problem finding the 'ideal' academic, hybrid, or private practice job with short partnership tracks, significant vacation time, and a favorable call schedule.

With the impending uncertainty related to upcoming healthcare reform in imaging… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on November 7, 2009 at 9:30am — No Comments

Women who skip regular mammograms run greater risk of dying from breast cancer

(DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING) -- A long-term study of breast imaging in Massachusetts has confirmed what mammographers have argued for years: older adult women who do not receive regular screening mammography are far more likely to die of breast cancer than women who routinely undergo the procedure. The findings were drawn from the experience of 6997 Massachusetts women who did, or did not, participate in regular screening and were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer between 1990 and 1999. The women… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on November 6, 2009 at 2:30pm — No Comments

New ACR Practice Leaders’ Web Site Launches Online Forum

Reston, Va. — The American College of Radiology (ACR) recently launched a new practice leaders’ Web site designed to address the clinical and administrative issues facing today’s radiology and radiation oncology practice leaders by providing the most recent literature gathered from throughout the medical landscape and providing an online forum to discuss these issues with their peers.

With its library of articles, the Web site offers insight into a plethora of practice-related issues… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on November 6, 2009 at 1:00pm — No Comments

ACR’s Neiman appeals for more face time between radiologists and patients

(DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING) -- Most radiologists may not consider spending 20 minutes a day socializing with patients as time well spent, but Dr. Harvey Neiman, executive director of the American College of Radiology, considers it a crucial investment for the profession's survival. Speaking to radiology residents Saturday at the California Radiological Society annual meeting, Neiman laid out strategies that could help radiologists successfully weather threats from imaging technologies and practice… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on November 5, 2009 at 2:30pm — No Comments

New apps expand iPhone’s value for medical professionals

(DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING) -- 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. iMobileHealthCare has developed iAorticValve, a reference guide to all heart valve products. The information is organized in a searchable database. The application also provides access to PubMeb,… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on November 4, 2009 at 2:30pm — 2 Comments

Combined House reform bill may cost imaging $4.3 billion

(DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING) -- Healthcare reform legislation from the House of Representatives, announced Thursday by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is ready to go to members for discussion and a vote. The bill would cut Medicare payment rates for advanced imaging while establishing a 2.5% surcharge on the purchase price of new imaging equipment. The $894 billion package combines provisions from three bills approved separately by House committees this summer. Provisions in those preliminary bills that were… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on November 3, 2009 at 2:30pm — No Comments

RSNA 2009 Meeting Facts

(RSNA) - Here are some meeting facts for this year's RSNA 2009!

95th SCIENTIFIC ASSEMBLY AND ANNUAL MEETING RADIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF NORTH AMERICA

Sunday, November 29 – Friday, December 4, 2009 McCormick Place, Chicago, Illinois

MEETING FACTS

(as of 10/22/09)

The Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA®) is the world’s premier scientific and educational forum in radiology.

Facts about… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on November 2, 2009 at 11:00pm — No Comments

Imaging Cuts in Medicare Fee Schedule: An Access Catastrophe and Danger to Patients

(RESTON, VA) Nov. 2 -- Medical imaging cuts contained in the 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule will restrict life-saving imaging care to large hospitals, produce longer commutes and wait times to receive care, and cause life threatening delays in diagnosis and treatment of cancer and other serious illnesses.

“These short sighted, unfounded and misguided cuts will imperil community based imaging, restrict access to cutting-edge imaging scans, and delay diagnosis of cancers and… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on November 2, 2009 at 7:00pm — No Comments

2010 Medicare fee schedule boosts equipment utilization rate

(DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING) -- CMS will increase the equipment utilization rate assumption used to determine the practice expense for expensive, nontherapeutic medical equipment, including diagnostic imaging systems, from 50% to 90% under new Medicare fee schedule rules announced Friday. In a bit of good news for radiology, CMS said it remains on track to require that suppliers of advanced imaging services become accredited by 2012. The announced hike of the assumed utilization rate for advanced… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on November 2, 2009 at 2:30pm — No Comments

Radiology Recommendations on the Rise

(BOSTON) -- According to the latest research in radiology from Massachusetts General Hospital's Radiology Department, Dr. Christopher L. Sistrom, et al have found that in recent years, there has been a dramatic increase in imaging recommendations.

His research analyzed nearly 6 million radiology reports between 1995 to 2008. Dr. Sistrom found that radiology recommendations increased during the 13 years of study, with the rate rising from approximately 6% to 12%.

After… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on November 1, 2009 at 10:30pm — No Comments

Totally Accessible MRI: A User's Guide to Principles, Technology, and Applications (Book Review)

Book title: Totally Accessible MRI: A User's Guide to Principles, Technology, and Applications

Cover type: Soft cover

Name of author: Michael L. Lipton, MD, PhD

Number of pages: 313

Publisher: Springer

City and state of publication: New York, USA

Year of publication: 2008 Totally Accessible MRI is an outgrowth of more than a decade of experience of Dr. Michael L. Lipton, MD,… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on November 1, 2009 at 12:00pm — No Comments

The American College of Radiology and American Society of Neuroradiology Statement on CT Protocols and Radiation Dose

(RESTON, VA) - The recent safety investigation by the FDA of “radiation overexposures during perfusion computed tomography (CT) imaging to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of stroke” highlights the importance of carefully evaluating protocols for all CT procedures relative to both radiation dose and image quality.

The process of establishing a set of scan acquisition parameters (generally referred to as a scan ‘protocol’) has become much more demanding in recent years because the… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on October 31, 2009 at 12:52pm — No Comments

Senate bill ties physicians’ pay to appropriateness criteria

(DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING) -- A proposal that could allow higher payments for physicians who refer patients in accordance with appropriateness criteria has been added to a healthcare reform bill now before the Senate Finance Committee. The America's Healthy Future Act of 2009 would create the CMS Innovation Center, a new Medicare program charged with evaluating and implementing physician payment methods that keep quality patient care up and costs down. The bill builds upon a four-decade old law that… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on October 31, 2009 at 1:30am — No Comments

PET researcher Joanna Fowler wins national medal of science

(DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING) -- Joanna Fowler, Ph.D., a major contributor to brain research and a pioneer in molecular imaging, will be awarded the National Medal of Science, the highest award this country bestows for lifetime achievement in science. A senior chemist and director of the radiotracer chemistry, instrumentation, and biological imaging program at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, NY, Fowler was a member of the research team that in 1976 first… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on October 30, 2009 at 1:30am — No Comments

Meaningful Use of Certified EHR Technology FAQ by the ACR

Source: ACR.org

Meaningful Use of Certified EHR Technology: FAQ

The following information is provided in response to inquiries from our members regarding the “meaningful use of certified electronic health record (EHR) technology” incentives program authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This article is for general informational purposes only, and is not a legal document or guidance.

Overview

The American Recovery and Reinvestment… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on October 29, 2009 at 11:30pm — No Comments