Diagnostic Reading #10: Five “Must Read” Articles on Radiology and Healthcare IT
Reading Time: 4 minutes read
Data Solutions, HIMSS18, and MIPS are in radiology news this week.
This week’s articles in Diagnostic Reading include: six life lessons for radiologists from Roger Federer; enhancing the patient experience can lead to better outcomes; an effective data management strategy can increase the quality of treatments, coordinate care, and manage organizational processes; radiologists need to communicate costs of imaging services to patients; and physicians can participate in MIPS as an individual, a group and now as a virtual group as well.
Six life lessons for radiologists from Roger Federer – Auntminnie
Roger Federer secured his 20th grand slam and became the second oldest man to win a grand slam title. In an era of radiologist burnout, radiologists can implement several strategies employed by Federer and other athletes to maintain top performance for the long term. Suggestions include use an ergonomic workstation; break up the work day with stretches to relax muscles and get eyes away from the monitor; consider teleradiology work that provides the ability to work from home or other locations; use teleradiology services from other providers when needed; take classes and keep learning new skills; and donate services to worthy charities such as Telerad Foundation and Rad-Aid. Read the white paper on ergonomic features for sonographers.
HIMSS18 guide to patient experience – Healthcare IT News
Improving the patient experience is not an entirely new idea, but at this year’s HIMSS18 conference it was more important than ever. The benefits are becoming clear: better outcomes and higher satisfaction scores, reduced readmissions and—when done properly—lower costs to both hospitals and consumers. Hospitals can convert these upsides into a distinct competitive advantage over regional providers not deploying such forward-looking tactics. Read the blog on the radiologist’s role in patient-centered care.
Blog: Big and small data solutions for hospitals hidden in databases – HIMSS Insights
During the past two decades, hospitals have invested heavily in advanced IT systems. But not many of them use the IT potential to increase the quality of treatments, coordinate care, and manage organizational processes. A data management strategy can change that.
Out-of-pocket costs for advanced imaging across the US private insurance marketplace – JACR
In the U.S. private insurance marketplace, patients commonly pay coinsurance when undergoing advanced imaging, both in and out of network. But out-of-network services usually involve drastically higher patient financial responsibilities (potentially 100% of examination cost). To more effectively engage patients in shared decision making and mitigate the hardships of surprise higher costs, radiologists should facilitate transparent communication of advanced imaging costs with patients.
Should radiologists participate in MIPS as part of a virtual group? – Radiology Business
When the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) passed, CMS established two ways for physicians to be rewarded for providing high-value care through a Quality Payment Program (QPP): the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) and advanced alternative payment models. Since the beginning, physicians have been able to participate in MIPS as an individual or as a group—but now they can also participate as a virtual group.
Blog of the week: physicians and radiologists sharing medical images via messaging apps – Everything Rad
Some radiologists and physicians are using WhatsApp, SnapChat, and Twitter to send radiographs of patients to other healthcare providers. Regulators in Europe are taking note, issuing guidelines – and some blockades – on sharing private patient data on messaging services. Read the blog based on the presentation given by Dr. Erik R. Ranschaert, Mol/BE of University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium, at ECR2018 last week.
#EverythingRad ECR2018 #HIMSS18
