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.

Radiology group cyberattack exposes private info of over 150,000 patients
The information exposed during the attack included names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and service charges.
Hospital redesigns radiology 2nd opinion service, scoring 92% collection success rate
OSU Medical Center has addressed common challenges including insufficient documentation, miscommunication, and the risk of repeat imaging.
Experts share recipe to reduce radiologist recommendations for unnecessary extra imaging
Education and other initiatives helped cut the rate of radiologist recommendations for additional imaging by 44% compared to a control site.
The top 25 heart hospitals in the United States
Newsweek and Statista have crunched the data and ranked the top U.S. hospitals for cardiac care. Did your facility make the cut?
Death from heart disease more common in rural areas—what can cardiologists do?
Rishi Wadhera, MD, detailed new data that show how socioeconomic factors are driving cardiovascular death rates, especially in younger adults.

Active surveillance of cancer won’t expose docs to malpractice

A new study from researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center should put minds at ease that the conservative management approach will not result in litigation when guidelines are followed.

Radiologists at a clear disadvantage in Medicare’s MIPS program, new study shows

In 2021, there were only nine available MIPS measures for diagnostic radiology versus 65 in family medicine, Neiman Health Policy Institute experts report.

Amyloid blood test could eliminate millions in spending on PET imaging for Alzheimer’s

At roughly $5,000 per positron emission tomography exam, experts estimate the U.S. healthcare system could save $9 million (or about $1,432 per patient) on imaging.

Portion of patients undergoing CTA for headache or dizziness soars 67% while positivity rate plummets

That’s according to new research out of the Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute, published in Internal and Emergency Medicine.

Certain patients face lower odds of undergoing an interventional radiology service, higher death risk

Black, Hispanic and Asian/Pacific Islander patients are significantly less likely to undergo an IR procedure for acute, pulmonary embolism.

HBO’s John Oliver skewers state medical boards over ‘oopsies!’

"[S]ome states, including—until recently—Texas, even employ an honor-system approach, which relies on physicians to self-report. But guess what? The bad doctors tend not to do that, because they’re bad doctors."

Daylight saving time boosts malpractice severity, payouts

As most of the U.S. shifts to daylight saving time this week, a new study reveals that malpractice severity and payment decisions are higher in this part of the year than during standard time.

FDA highlights mammography issues at 3 radiology practices, posing ‘serious risk to human health’

The agency on March 5 issued separate alerts detailing quality challenges at imaging providers in Michigan, California and Texas.

Quality

Radiology group cyberattack exposes private info of over 150,000 patients

Hospital redesigns radiology 2nd opinion service, scoring 92% collection success rate

Experts share recipe to reduce radiologist recommendations for unnecessary extra imaging

The top 25 heart hospitals in the United States

Death from heart disease more common in rural areas—what can cardiologists do?