Diagnostic Reading #41: Five “Must Read” Articles on Medical Imaging
Reading Time: 3 minutes read
In the news: updated AC guidelines and creating a better radiology report.
This week’s articles in Diagnostic Reading include: ACR releases update to appropriateness criteria; how to improve a radiology report; the CIR’s mission to elevate the radiology profession; how the pandemic is changing breast cancer care; and new framework proposed for POCUS.
ACR releases updated appropriateness criteria – Axis Imaging News
The American College of Radiology (ACR) released an update to its ACR Appropriateness Criteria (ACR AC), which includes 198 diagnostic imaging and interventional radiology topics with 965 clinical variants covering more than 1,700 clinical scenarios. The ACR AC—developed and reviewed annually—was first introduced in 1993 by expert panels in diagnostic imaging and interventional radiology to help providers make the most appropriate imaging or treatment decisions for specific clinical conditions.
Creating a better radiology report: 8 expert recommendations – Health Imaging
Although radiology reports are arguably the most important products radiologists contribute to patient care, many receive little education on the topic during training. A team of radiologists—representing institutions in the United States, England and Australia—recently detailed principles that radiologists can adopt to enhance their own reporting, which were published in RadioGraphics. This article includes key takeaways from their study.
The Inter-American College of Radiology shares its mission – Everything Rad
President-elect Dr. Beatriz González Ulloa explains the mission of the Colegio Interamericano de Radiología) (CIR) – and why it includes elevating the technical, scientific and human quality of the radiological practice for the benefit of the patients.
3 ways COVID-19 is transforming breast cancer care – AuntMinnie Europe
The COVID-19 pandemic is having a negative effect on breast cancer care, researchers stated at the 2020 European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC). The panel presented evidence that the pandemic is tied to less breast screening, more loneliness and fewer quality-of-life-enhancing procedures. Though research suggests the pandemic is affecting the entire continuum of breast cancer care, it also indicates that clinicians can take steps to mitigate some of the negative consequences.
Radiology must change the payment paradigm for point-of-care ultrasound, experts charge – Radiology Business
Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) has served as a disruptive innovation in medicine, but terms surrounding this modality continue to be “inconsistent and imprecise.” Scientists with the Society of Radiologists in Ultrasound and the American College of Radiology (ACR) are proposing a new framework that would divide ultrasound into four separate categories with no overlap, framing POCUS as a completely different type of evaluation from diagnostic ultrasound. Current definitions are too imprecise, and only serve to impair research, payment and accreditation, they stated in the Journal of the American College of Radiology.
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