Diagnostic Reading #17: Five “Must Read” Articles on HIT and Radiology

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MRI and CT modalities are in the news this week.

This week’s articles include: cloud-based cardiac MRI analytics can provide diagnosis in 15 seconds; sharing best practices can reduce CT dose; new Society of Interventional Oncology is created; radiology should work with certified health records; and CMS permits high-risk patients to receive annual low-dose CT scans for lung cancer screening without cost sharing.

Thinking intelligently about heart matters – Radiology Business

Cardiac MRI can answer many clinical questions about the heart and great vessels better than other imaging modalities, including echocardiography, nuclear SPECT, and cardiac CT. However, cardiac MRI is labor intensive. A new cloud-based solution approved by the FDA provides automated, editable ventricle segmentations based on cardiac MRI images. This platform’s analytics can do in 15 seconds a task that takes a radiologist at least 30 minutes.

Sharing best practices cuts CT dose substantially – AuntMinnie

Substantial reductions in CT radiation dose can be achieved by monitoring and comparing dose across institutions even in a large academic health network such as the University of California. A study describes how several UC hospitals introduced a feedback system for radiologists to share dose information and best practices from their own institutions, and then held a series of meetings to set common standards across the network. The project led to dose reductions of 19% to 25% across UC institutions.

New society focused on interventional oncology – Radiology Business

With the explosive growth of interventional oncology, the Society of Interventional Oncology has been founded to focus entirely on the subspecialty field of interventional radiology. Interest for interventional oncology has grown exponentially in the U.S., Europe, and across the globe.

Radiology should work with certified health records — Radiology Business

Radiologists should understand the importance of using certified EHR technology—now more than ever with the opening of the MACRA’s first reporting period. Though implementation of the technology has been hampered by incentives irrelevant to radiology, the imaging community needs to work together to create value-added activities that satisfy reporting requirements.

Millions of Americans eligible for lung cancer screening – AuntMinnie

The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) now permit high-risk patients to receive annual low-dose CT (LDCT) scans for lung cancer screening without cost sharing. High-risk patients were defined as individuals with no signs or symptoms of lung cancer who: are between the ages of 55 and 77; smoked at least one pack of cigarettes every day for 30 years or more; and are current smokers or ceased tobacco use within the last 15 years. This ruling makes 10 million Americans eligible for lung cancer screening with guaranteed coverage reimbursement under Medicare and other payers.

Check back next Friday for a new issue of Diagnostic Reading. #healthIT #radiology