RSNA 2015: Radiology & Innovation Must Go Hand in Hand
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RSNA 2015 officially kicked off yesterday, and as usual, brought with it a first day full of inspiration and a call-to-action for the radiology community.
RSNA President Ronald L. Arenson, M.D., gave the opening keynote and provided a “State of the Union” for radiology. He explained how the specialty is in a time of challenge and change, with this comes the time for opportunity. The major challenges that Dr. Arenson highlighted include the growing demand for personalized medicine, healthcare payer expectations, massive expansion of data, integrated healthcare delivery, the growth of telehealth, and an aging population.
After going through radiology’s challenges, he segued into explaining how radiology has often been at the forefront of innovation in healthcare. He highlighted the initiative Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE), which included radiology working to maximize the impact of the DICOM standard, and how during that time radiology also made giant steps in reducing dose delivered to patients in exams.
Ronald L. Arenson, M.D., FACR, is president of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
To close out his talk, Dr. Arenson encouraged attendees to become agents of change in their organizations by becoming adapters of technology and becoming more patient-centric.
Continuing the trend of innovation in radiology, Darrell G. Kirch, M.D., president and chief executive officer of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) in Washington, D.C., gave a talk on how vital innovative leadership is in the transformative age of healthcare.
In his talk, Dr. Kirch highlighted the importance of collaboration and team building, not just in radiology, but within the healthcare enterprise. As has been a common topic, he also highlighted to role physicians play in being able to provide quality healthcare to a wider population at a reasonable cost. To make this a reality, Dr. Kirch said physicians must move beyond the old school mentality, which involves physicians focused on individualism and competition. In order to move beyond this outdated way of thinking, radiologists and health providers must take the lead in developing and implementing cutting edge technology.
As we continue throughout RSNA 2015, we will be sure to see more presentations and posters given that highlight innovation in radiology. The opening sessions from Sunday set the stage for an exciting week.
