Diagnostic Reading #30: Five “Must Read” Articles on HIT and Radiology

Reading Time: 3 minutes read

AI’s influence on patient outcomes and phone interruptions to radiologists are in the news.

This week’s articles include: dangers of phone interruptions for reading radiologists; use of AI can help physicians predict and improve patient outcomes; new heart imaging method might predict heart attacks; PET can accurately detect or exclude Alzheimer’s; and HIMSS Europe joins with Health 2.0 to coordinate 2018 digital health conference in Europe.

Phone interruptions can increase discrepancies – AuntminnieEurope

Both radiologists and referrers are far too quick to accept telephone interruptions. Telephone calls are one of the most frequent interruptions to reporting, and a call during the hour before completing a report may increase the chance of discrepancies by 12 percent. A study found that interruptions occur alarmingly often.

Radiologists are about to disappear – Healthcare-in-europe.com

A Madrid hospital has undertaken a number of projects to promote use of artificial intelligence in clinical practice. The medical director and head of the hospital’s Innovation Unit said his team is developing AI solutions to manage mental diseases and computational systems to help in clinical decision-making. He predicts that “technology is going to replace them (radiologists) because machines will read studies far better and more precisely than humans ever could.”

Understanding the patient experience with medical records – HIE Answers

The ONC’s new report, Improving the Health Records Request Process for Patients: Insights from User Experience Research Link, indicates patients have access to some but not all of their healthcare information when needed. Patient portals provide only a snapshot of their health information. If more detailed data is needed, patients often have to request their medical records through a providers’ office or hospital. The request process can be difficult and data is not often available electronically.

New heart imaging method might predict heart attacks – NBC News

There is a new way to predict patients who are at risk of a heart attack or stroke long before conventional imaging methods can do it. Researchers have developed a new imaging method that detects inflamed fat cells as they are transforming into the inflamed, hardened plaques that clog up arteries. This new method also allows detection of small but inflamed atherosclerotic plaques in heart arteries that are prone to rupture—allowing physicians to prescribe statins and help prevent heart attacks.

PET is center of attention at U.K. Alzheimer’s conference – Auntminnie

PET brain scans can accurately detect or exclude Alzheimer’s disease by imaging beta-amyloid plaques in the brain, but the modality is underutilized in clinical care. Using PET to detect the presence of these plaques can change diagnoses in as many as two-thirds of cases. Other research found participants and caregivers were dissatisfied with the availability of PET scans. Also, an analysis of Medicare claims data found that approximately 60% of dementia cases are missed in clinical practice, particularly cases of early dementia.

Blog of the week: medical imaging technology to support value-based care – Everything Rad

This week’s blog on Everything Rad talks about the impact of switching from fee-for-service to value-based care on enterprise imaging.  You will also learn about Carestream’s zero-footprint Universal viewer and how it can help reduce or eliminate unnecessary duplications of studies.

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