Diagnostic Reading #4: Five “Must Read” Articles on HIT and Radiology

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Algorithms, on-the-job-training, and confidence are topics in radiology this week.

Diagnostic Reading summary includes: radiologists face pressure to consolidate; an algorithm can extract and characterize findings in radiology reports; a year of clinical practice dramatically improves competency among radiologists; The Journal of the ACR outlines reasons why radiologists should not hedge when there is certainty; and a new health management service charges $149 a month to tend to patients’ primary care needs.

Squeeze play: Radiologists face pressure to consolidate – Radiology Business

Radiology has consolidated at a slower pace than other specialties, but rapid advances in technology and a pressure to reduce costs have made joining a large physician practice group an attractive option for some radiologists. Additionally, as hospitals face higher standards for value-based reimbursement, they expect more from radiologist practice groups. Services such as subspecialty or 24/7 reads might be difficult for small groups to offer.

Algorithm distills findings in radiology reports – AuntMinnie

With help from machine learning, a natural language processing (NLP) algorithm can automatically extract and characterize findings in radiology reports to help clinicians better understand important results, according to recent research. An algorithm can facilitate automated identification of patients for clinical trials, accelerate disease surveillance, and enable real-time clinical decision support and content-based image retrieval systems.

Radiology residents: What a difference a year of clinical practice makes – Radiology Business

Irish researchers have found that on-the-job training quickly hoists new radiologists’ know-how in the area of appropriateness of imaging ordering to well above their competence levels heading into—and even upon completion of—their final year of medical school. Study authors recommend a more sustained involvement of education on appropriate imaging. They also recommend greater importance placed on resources like the ACR-AC into undergraduate education as a way to improve rates of proper imaging utilization and patient care.

What happens when radiologists hedge even when certain – Radiology Business

An article in the Journal of the ACR outlines  reasons why radiologists should not hedge when there is certainty. If radiologists are not certain of a diagnosis it’s wise to recommend follow-up imaging but when there is “near certainty” about diagnosis and no differential diagnosis, the author believes radiologists should convey confidence.

Doctor offices that look like Apple stores – Health Management Technology (ABC News)

A new health management service called Forward  charges $149 a month to tend to patients’ primary care needs. Forward plans to deploy body scanners, sensors, giant touch-screen monitors, infrared devices, and other high-tech gizmos that could make a doctor’s appointment feel more like a trip to an Apple store. Forward can refer patients to outside specialists when needed. Patients can view all their medical information on a mobile app that they can also use to message a “care team” available around the clock. People with longer-term issues will go home with sensors that can transmit data to alert doctors when urgent action is required.

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