Diagnostic Reading #24: Five “Must Read” Articles on Medical Imaging

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Articles on what to expect in diagnostic imaging following the first wave of COVID.

This week’s articles in Diagnostic Reading include: radiology’s role in the patient experience; examining COVID-19 imaging options; experts urge continued safety precautions with elective imaging return; 6 reasons why radiology will bounce back after pandemic; and 5 tips to help with COVID-related burnout.

Radiology’s role in the patient experience– Everything Rad

Studies show that improving a patient’s experience can provide important benefits to both the healthcare provider and the patient, including decreased complaints and malpractice claims; and improved patients’ physical and mental health. But how do you know if you are providing a quality patient experience? Read the blog about an initiative by Brigham and Women’s Hospital to measure the patient experience in radiology.

Imaging COVID-19: evaluating available options – Diagnostic Imaging

Widespread consensus during the COVID-19 pandemic has been that the best way to diagnose a patient for viral infection is the RT-PCR test. However, due to the potentially low sensitivity of the test, there are other imaging options as well. An investigative team, led by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, recently examined the efficacy of these imaging modalities and artificial intelligence, according to a review article published in Radiology: Cardiothoracic Imaging.

Go slow, avoid urge to ease safety measures when resuming elective imaging, experts advise – Radiology Business

Radiology experts from one Seattle institution are urging their peers to avoid the temptation to pull back on safety measures as they resume elective imaging. They recommend that practices should strengthen precautions meant to protect staffers and patients from contracting COVID-19, according to an article in Journal of the American College of Radiology. They added it’s wise to deploy a “slow ramp-up,” checking infection rates and other data every two weeks to determine whether to continue providing non-urgent care.

6 reasons why radiology jobs will bounce back after COVID-19 – AuntMinnie

Professional radiology will proceed back to where it was before the COVID-19 pandemic as service sites open their doors and begin providing care again, states a radiology management consultant whose private radiology practices experienced an average of 50% or more decline in volume during the initial phases of the pandemic. Though the true impact of COVID-19 will not be known until the healthcare system settles with a new normal, he offers his “educated assumptions” about radiology—such as, once people are unrestricted, volumes will come back to radiology fast and hard. 

5 tips for helping relieve COVID-related burnout and PTSD among radiology team members – Radiology Business

The COVID-19 pandemic is causing burnout and PTSD among healthcare workers, a phenomenon that may require intervention from hospital and radiology practice leaders, according to two analyses recently published in prominent medical journals. Nearly half of healthcare workers are experiencing some symptoms of post-traumatic stress during the pandemic, and almost 25% report signs of depression. In the Journal of the American College of Radiology, radiologists offer five simple solutions to help, along with corresponding benefits.

#covid19 #patientexperience