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.

American Heart Association program leads to substantial improvements in stroke care
Cardiologist Gregg Fonarow, MD, reviewed decades of data and discussed the long-term impact of the AHA's Get With The Guidelines-Stroke program.
AHA still working to find more patients with severe aortic stenosis who may require care
The initiative is designed to help identify more patients who may require aortic valve replacement. Brian Lindman, MD, provided an update on the project's efforts.
Imaging experts question validity of new CMS quality measure aimed at reducing CT radiation exposure
The American Association of Physicists in Medicine recently convened a panel of industry experts, devising a list of issues with the new quality metric.
Most stock photos fail to accurately portray the work of radiologists
Only about 9% of images examined presented a “realistic view of a radiologist’s job," according to new research out of Belgium.
Efforts needed to improve interventional radiology awareness among specialists: Survey
The call to action comes from a poll of over 500 specialists at a single academic institution, published in the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Executives shuffle at Baylor St. Luke’s following ProPublica investigation

Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center appointed a new president and restructured other staff after an investigation from the Houston Chronicle and ProPublica found mistakes at the Houston-based hospital’s heart transplant center led to patient deaths.

Quality

American Heart Association program leads to substantial improvements in stroke care

AHA still working to find more patients with severe aortic stenosis who may require care

Imaging experts question validity of new CMS quality measure aimed at reducing CT radiation exposure

Most stock photos fail to accurately portray the work of radiologists

Efforts needed to improve interventional radiology awareness among specialists: Survey