While increasing caseloads are part of the picture, much of the stress physicians experience comes from areas that distract them from patient care − factors such as shifting regulatory requirements and hospital politics. 

RSNA 2019 is here and I’m excited to share what’s new from the teams at MEDNAX Radiology Solutions and vRad – especially in the area of AI.

CMS says 2020 is to be a year of “educational and operations” CDS testing. But the agency is likely to soon begin compiling data on slow adopters. Here’s what matters under the federal AUC mandate.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been one of the most hyped advancements in radiology for many years now, sparking vigorous debates about its potential impact on patient care. But early on, discussions about AI were more theoretical than factual; it was simply too early to know what the future may bring.

MEDNAX Radiology Education has begun offering radiologists weekly CME sessions that take around 15 minutes to complete and were more than a decade in the making.

For physicians who treat Medicare patients, everything changes next New Year’s Day. 

That’s when real consequences begin to befall those who order advanced imaging—CT, MRI or PET scans—without first consulting appropriate use criteria (AUC). They’ll need to show they did so by using a CMS-qualified clinical decision support mechanism (qCDSM).

I love being a neuroradiologist and helping patients. I’ve always loved it. But there are downsides to the work as well. The stress levels might be high, you can feel isolated or restricted and your work list may control everything you do—it’s no wonder burnout is so high in our profession these days.

As far back as my undergraduate years, I knew I wanted to work in a field that combined medicine with computer science. I actually had a professor who told me that was a silly combination. He said there’d never be a real-world need for it. How wrong he was—and how fortunate I am to now work for a radiology practice whose hallmark is its enthusiastic embrace of IT and imaging informatics.