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.

Joint Commission partners with STS, ACC on new cardiac care certification
The new certification is focused on the importance of high-quality care and real-world patient outcomes. It will be based on the same data care teams already submit if they participate in the STS Adult Cardiac Surgery Database, ACC CathPCI Registry or STS/ACC TVT Registry.
FDA issues recalls for interventional systems from 2 big-name vendors
Both recalls are categorized as Class 2, which the FDA designates for issues that have the potential to “cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences."
Routine MRI measurements as accurate as invasive testing for heart failure
New findings suggest that measurements of blood oxygen acquired via T2 mapping during routine MRI scans could provide the same information on heart health as catheterization procedures.
Siemens Healthineers' partnership sets sights on point-of-care testing for athletes
On-the-field imaging helps determine if athletes can be treated effectively on-site or whether they might need to be transferred to a medical center for additional care.
Some patients more prone to MRI motion, with key implications for scheduling, procedure prep
Movement during these exams can have downstream consequences such as diagnostic uncertainty, higher costs from repeat scans, and delayed clinical decision-making.

St. Anne Mercy: Getting its volume and keeping its value, too

Sponsored by Hitachi Healthcare Americas

Often lost amid all the talk of U.S. healthcare’s volume-to-value transformation is the plain and simple truth that volume doesn’t stop mattering just because value matters more than it did before. This is especially germane to provider organizations caring for patients at the population level.

vRad Reaches Milestone: Deep Learning Algorithm Successfully Identifies Potential Intracranial Hemorrhaging; Operational Implementation Pending Regulatory Approval

MINNEAPOLIS, MN—(December 8, 2015) vRad (Virtual Radiologic), an affiliate of MEDNAX, Inc. (NYSE: MD) and the leading national teleradiology services and telemedicine company, has successfully reached a critical milestone outlined as part of its commitment to the growing branch of artificial intelligence known as “Deep Learning” announced in June 2015.

Q&A with Leonard Berlin, MD: Errors, quality and malpractice

Sponsored by vRad

When ACR's Radiology Leadership Institute honored Leonard Berlin, MD, with a 2015 Leadership Luminary Award this past August, some may have assumed Berlin was getting ready to take a bow and move on toward retirement.

Lee Memorial lights the way for patient engagement in the Sunshine State

Sponsored by FUJIFILM Healthcare Americas

With more than one million patient contacts each year, Lee Memorial Health System considers patient engagement the order of the day every day. For Mike Smith, CIO of the six-hospital, 1,423-bed organization based in Fort Myers, Fla., this enterprise-wide emphasis means constantly working to ramp up IT-enabled interactions via—among other interfaces—an increasingly in-demand patient portal.

Quality

Joint Commission partners with STS, ACC on new cardiac care certification

FDA issues recalls for interventional systems from 2 big-name vendors

Routine MRI measurements as accurate as invasive testing for heart failure

Siemens Healthineers' partnership sets sights on point-of-care testing for athletes

Some patients more prone to MRI motion, with key implications for scheduling, procedure prep