Diagnostic Reading #34: Five “Must Read” Articles on Radiology and Healthcare from the Past Week

Reading Time: 2 minutes read

Healthcare news includes videos that improve radiologists’ ultrasound skills; and concerns about Obamacare.

Articles include: MR-guided ultrasound helped rouse a recovering coma patient to a more alert state of consciousness; incidental and secondary findings are on the rise; use of telemedicine requires “webside” training; 10-minute videos improve pediatric radiologists’ ultrasound skills; and double-digit premium increases and exits by big-name insurers cause some to wonder if “Obamacare” will go down as a failed experiment.

MR-guided brain ultrasound helps rouse coma patient back to consciousness – Health Imaging

Neuroscience researchers and clinicians at UCLA have used MR-guided ultrasound to help rouse a recovering coma patient to a more alert state of consciousness. They’re not certain about the extent to which the novel therapy contributed to the good outcome, but they’re sufficiently hopeful to have begun recruiting participants for a larger trial.

Patient preferences should guide decisions around incidental findings – Health Imaging

Incidental and secondary findings are on the rise, thanks largely to advances in diagnostic technologies and adoptions of value-based practice incentives. As such findings increasingly confound patients as well as clinicians—not to mention medical ethicists and malpractice courts — radiology would do well to follow discussions going on in the field of genetic testing.

At the ‘webside’ – Modern Healthcare

As telemedicine takes root, there’s a growing need to train physicians on how to handle virtual visits with patients and develop a good ‘webside manner.’ Physicians must offer an empathetic and compassionate presence to calm fears and provide hope for patients who may be suffering from anything from serious to common illnesses. Medical schools have always included training in bedside manner in their curricula—now webside training might also be essential.

10-minute videos improve pediatric rads’ ultrasound skills on far-flung continents – Health Imaging

Trainee radiologists in Ethiopia and Pennsylvania honed their technical skills in pediatric ultrasound after viewing brief web-based tutorials on image acquisition. The parallel improvements, which included measurable boosts in confidence levels, were observed by the researchers who created the videos after videotaping renal bladder and right upper quadrant (RUQ) ultrasound exams of infant and child volunteers. The aim of the project was to validate the teaching technique afforded by these types of videos.

Clinton could face mounting problem with health overhaul – Modern Healthcare

Double-digit premium increases and exits by big-name insurers have caused some to wonder whether “Obamacare” will go down as a failed experiment. Next year’s health insurance sign-up season starts a week before the Nov. 8 election, and the previews have been brutal. Premiums are expected to go up sharply in many insurance marketplaces, which offer subsidized private coverage to people lacking access to job-based plans. And areas where insurers have lost hundreds of millions of dollars will likely become “one-insurer markets,” losing the benefits of competition.