Diagnostic Reading #10: Five “Must Read” Articles on HIT and Radiology
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In the news: the chatbot will answer you now; and IR can improve clinical outcomes.
This week’s articles include: study shows more follow-up ultrasound exams performed when non-radiologists provide initial interpretation; interventional radiology can help improve clinical outcomes and recovery times; ACA replacement bill contains provisions beneficial to radiologists; AI chatbot can answer interventional radiology questions; and trial takes a different approach to classifying cancer treatment.
More follow-up ultrasounds performed when non-radiologists interpret – Diagnostic Imaging
Follow-up imaging after an initial ED ultrasound is significantly reduced when the ultrasound examination is interpreted by a radiologist rather than a non-radiologist, according to a study published in the JACR. Results showed that of 200,357 ED ultrasound events, 163,569 (81.6%) were interpreted by radiologists and 36,788 (18.4%) by non-radiologists. Across all study years, ED patients undergoing ultrasound examinations interpreted by non-radiologists underwent additional diagnostic imaging studies compared with patients whose examinations had been interpreted by a radiologist.
Interventional radiology can improve clinical outcomes and recovery times – American College of Radiology
The American College of Radiology (ACR) and Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) have created downloadable resources to help local interventional radiologists educate hospital executives and radiology group officers about the clinical and economic benefits of starting a full-fledged, in-house IR practice. Clinical IR can help improve clinical outcomes, recovery times and patient satisfaction – key factors in new delivery and payment model reimbursement.
What the ACA replacement means for radiology – Radiology Business
The Affordable Care Act replacement bill appears to leave intact pieces of the original ACA beneficial to radiologists, such as the expansion of preventative cancer screening. The section relating to U.S. Preventative Task Force Screening-approved exams wasn’t repealed. It looks like preventative screens that have grades of ‘B’ or above must continue to be provided by private insurance companies to patients without any form of cost sharing.
SIR17: AI chatbot can answer questions about interventional procedures – Radiology Business
UCLA researchers used natural language processing to create a chatbot that can answer interventional radiology questions posed by referring physicians. Colleagues taught the chatbot about interventional radiology by feeding it more than 2,000 data points simulating common inquiries a radiologist might receive during a consultation.
Trial takes a different approach to classifying cancer treatment – Clinical Innovation+Technology
A new study called the NCI-MATCH trial analyzes patients’ tumors to determine whether they contain gene abnormalities for which a targeted drug exists and assigns treatment based on the abnormality. Researchers recruit people who have gone the traditional route of cancer treatments and failed. In its first three months, 800 patients who have an advanced solid tumor, lymphoma or myeloma have been enrolled. The eConsult program covered 43 DHS facilities and more than 200 non-DHS practices from 2012 to 2015 and was used by 3,060 primary care physicians and 479 specialists by the end of 2015.
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