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.

Consequential imaging: 6 ways prenatal ultrasound affects health and/or care

Parents-to-be consider prenatal ultrasound imaging a ceremonial custom they don’t want to miss out on.

US life expectancy falls, primarily due to COVID-19

The numbers are worse for men compared to women, according to a new CDC report. 

‘Low-trust’ providers inadvertently increase pain in patients undergoing diagnostic testing

The effect shows up on functional MRI as increased brain activity in regions involved in pain, emotion and attention—not only during the procedure but also afterward, when patients remember the experience and score its discomfort level.

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Most overdose patients are not tested for fentanyl

Hospital ER departments are missing out on overdose surveillance as the opioid epidemic continues to ravage the United States. 

 

An overview of artificial intelligence (AI) in radiology with Keith Dreyer with the ACR. Images shows a COVID-19 lung CT scan reconstruction from Siemens Healthineers. #AI #radAI #ACR

AI speeds, improves chest X-ray interpretations

Six radiologists interpreting around 500 chest radiographs with an assist from AI bested unaided radiologists in measures of efficiency and/or accuracy in a new comparative performance study.    

Breast cancer screening a bellwether service in radiology’s drive to bridge the ‘digital divide’

Mammography practices need to continue supporting pre-Digital Age channels for patients to schedule appointments, participate in community health programs and receive annual screening exams in mobile settings close to where they live. 

In Canada, discovery of unapproved viewing stations leads to review of 3K mammograms

A governmental healthcare provider in Canada has begun reviewing mammography results from around 3,000 patients imaged over the past three years.