Quality

The focus of quality improvement in healthcare is to bolster performance and processes related to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Leaders in this space also ensure the proper selection of imaging exams and procedures, and monitor the safety of services, among other duties. Reimbursement programs such as the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) utilize financial incentives to improve quality. This also includes setting and maintaining care quality initiatives, such as the requirements set by the Joint Commission.

FDA commissioner, a veteran cardiologist, highlights ongoing issues with US healthcare system
FDA Commissioner Robert Califf, MD, talked to Cardiovascular Business about healthcare spending, inconsistent patient outcomes and much more.
FDA commissioner urges health systems to strengthen AI quality oversight
FDA Commissioner Robert Califf, MD, explains the need for hospitals to perform quality assurance checks on clinical artificial intelligence to ensure these technologies don't "drift" from what was originally cleared by the FDA.
Clinical decision support significantly reduces use of CT for pulmonary embolism
Across 340,000 hospital admissions, there was a 7.4% decrease in CTPA use after referrers started consulting CDS, experts write in JACR.
AI prevents mammography positioning errors before exposure
And it can spot positioning errors in less than two seconds, new research suggests.
Frequent AI use may increase radiologists’ risk of burnout
The problem is particularly pronounced among members of the specialty who already have a high workload or are skeptical of artificial intelligence.

DBT associated with more accurate biopsy recommendations

Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) implementation in a diagnostic setting can result in an improved cancer detection rate (CDR) and more accurate biopsy recommendations, according to a new case study published in the Journal of the American College of Radiology.

January 23, 2019

One Cardiology Center, Two Technologies and Countless Young Lives Saved or Improved

Sponsored by Hitachi Healthcare Americas

A family from Pennsylvania’s Plain People community, which consists primarily of Amish and Mennonite families, recently took their child to Cardiology Care for Children (CCC), a small yet regionally renowned practice in Lancaster.

DBT helps reduce recall rates, commit fewer patients to short-term follow-up

Implementing digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) can lead to fewer women being committed to short-term follow-up, according to new research published in Academic Radiology.

January 21, 2019

DBT outperforms FFDM when screening patients with dense breast tissue

Invasive lobular, low-grade and HER-2-negative breast cancers are more detectable with digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) than full-field digital mammography (FFDM) when imaging patients with dense breasts, according to a new study published in the Korean Journal of Radiology.

January 18, 2019

Stationary DBT improves reader accuracy compared to mammography

Stationary digital breast tomosynthesis (sDBT), which allows views to be collected without moving the x-ray tube, leads to improved reader accuracy compared to mammography, according to new findings published in Academic Radiology.

January 17, 2019

More than half of physicians are burned out or depressed

Physicians are feeling stressed out, with 44 percent reporting they feel burned out and 15 percent reporting they are depressed, according to a recent report from Medscape.

January 17, 2019

Makers of OxyContin misled patients, doctors on addiction dangers

An American family that has become one of the wealthiest in the nation due to sales of the powerful opioid OxyContin misled doctors and patients about the dangers associated with the drug, The New York Times reported.

January 16, 2019

3 ways to demonstrate the true value provided by radiologists

Radiologists provide significant value. According to a new analysis published in the Journal of the American College of Radiology, however, the specialty is still judged by “checkbox metrics” that do not illustrate its true value.

January 14, 2019

Quality

FDA commissioner, a veteran cardiologist, highlights ongoing issues with US healthcare system

FDA commissioner urges health systems to strengthen AI quality oversight

Clinical decision support significantly reduces use of CT for pulmonary embolism

AI prevents mammography positioning errors before exposure

Frequent AI use may increase radiologists’ risk of burnout