Radiographic mammography can be difficult to interpret, and radiologists who read mammograms rely on prior studies to guide them. Many women wisely comply with the recommendation to have this lifesaving study annually, so radiologists are often doing a difficult job within a tight timeline because they must review many mammograms, including the

As any PACS administrator can attest, the cost of advanced imaging technology is higher than the price of a new CT or PET scanner. As the number of DICOM images attained per scan increases exponentially, software and hardware alike have a hard time keeping up with the load; no matter how powerful your PACS, without the back-end server power

Prior to 2007, medical practices that developed and used imaging facilities on an exclusive, full-time basis were not overly scrutinized by payors or regulators. In addition, physician practice arrangements that were properly structured to allow the practice to use the imaging facility on a part-time basis (such as block leasing) were also quite

The road to a distributed reading model is paved with WAN accelerators, DICOM gateways, and sleepless nights, to hear one practice CIO describe it. Nonetheless, three and a half years after he began building a distributed reading solution to support the subspecialty reading model of Columbus, Ohio-based Riverside Radiology, CIO Ron Hosenfeld sleeps

Why does it typically take several days to get a new modality up and running, from a connectivity perspective?

With the cost of advanced imaging technology always on the rise and reimbursement continually declining, now, more than ever, it is crucial that imaging centers negotiate optimal managed care contracts. Unfortunately, managed care is currently targeting imaging centers, owing to concerns about overutilization and escalating costs. How can imaging

When it comes to size and influence, Austin Radiological Association (ARA) has few peers. The practice of 72—and soon to be more—radiologists employs 700 people (580 FTEs) in Austin. In addition to covering every one of the 16 hospitals in central Texas, ARA archives most of the radiological images generated at those sites on its regional PACS. The

Devising an imaging-center strategy and choosing a piece of technology take the imaging-center operator only halfway toward the successful conclusion of a technology plan of action: Further decisions and additional initiatives will be necessary before a piece of technology is successfully deployed.An imaging-center operator must determine whether