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.

Performing valve-in-valve transcatheter mitral valve replacement (ViV TMVR) with conscious sedation (CS) or monitored anesthesia care (MAC) instead of general anesthesia (GA) is safe and effective, according to new research published in JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions.

Using a TAVR-like minimalist approach for valve-in-valve TMVR is safe and effective, Cleveland Clinic study confirms

During valve-in-valve TMVR, patients are treated with conscious sedation or monitored anesthesia care instead of general anesthesia. This new analysis confirms that the change does not impact patient outcomes, but it was linked to a shorter length of stay.

Technologist ‘learning opportunities’ vastly outnumber imaging ‘do-overs’ across almost 1 million exams

Reviewing a 20-month run with a radiologist-to-technologist communications tool, researchers have found minor problems with image quality 10 times more common than patient callbacks for repeat imaging.

Generic CT contrast supplier pledges ‘immediate relief’ from shortage

A global tech and pharma vendor is set to inject U.S. healthcare with a set of generic contrast agents, the first of which will be an FDA-approved substitute for GE Healthcare’s Visipaque.

True or false? ‘AI does not influence radiologists’ performance’

A healthcare AI startup in Silicon Valley is partnering with a top-tier medical school—and hopefully a few good radiologists—to test a hypothesis that’s increasingly crucial to radiology.

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Imaging-based COVID study finds blood clots twice as likely with infection vs. vaccination

A retrospective analysis of cross-sectional venograms shows only 4.5% of a teaching hospital’s COVID-vaccinated patients had a clotting condition in early 2021. Meanwhile the rate for the unvaccinated was 10.1%.

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Cardiologists applaud new research on social/structural determinants of health among heart patients

The American Heart Association and Association of Black Cardiologists announced the winners of a six-month data challenge, describing health equity as "one of the most pressing areas in healthcare.”

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3D mammography may shake ‘routine’ out of architectural distortion surgery

When counseling patients with architectural distortion on digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) but no signs of malignancy on biopsy, mammographers should raise imaging alone as a sound option for surveillance.

Early follow-up care boosts outcomes, including survival, among heart failure patients

Researchers tracked data from more than 450,000 patients treated over the course of 15 years, sharing their findings in JAMA Network Open.