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.

Family of heart patient who died awarded $45M after suing health system for negligence
The 55-year-old patient woke up experiencing chest pain one morning and an ambulance was called. He was dead just a few hours later. His family's lawsuit argued that delays in care, communication errors and other issues were directly responsible for his death.
How to score accreditation for a radiotherapy theranostics program
Wes Folds, a PET specialist with the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission, discusses a new nuclear offering from IAC.
Referrers want more structured radiology reports
Ordering physicians believe templated reporting more clearly communicates impressions regarding neuro patients, which often require more complex workups and management.
Quality of care for heart patients does not improve in first year of ACO participation
Researchers tracked patient outcomes through the use of 15 performance measures related to hypertension, coronary artery disease, heart failure and atrial fibrillation.
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.

The best US hospitals in 2022-2023

Minnesota-based Mayo Clinic took top honors as the best hospital in the United States, according to the 2022-2023 ranking by U.S. News & World Report.

Most patients want access to medical imaging records, but majority aren’t getting it: Small survey

More than half of a couple hundred patients who completed a new survey, 52%, ran into trouble when trying to see their medical images and reports or share same with their care team.

5 ways to financially thrive in the face of chronic little pay cuts

Radiology researchers from six leading medical schools have laid out some attuned and readily adoptable strategies for groups challenged to prosper in a time of difficult reimbursement dynamics.

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.

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%.

Quality

Family of heart patient who died awarded $45M after suing health system for negligence

How to score accreditation for a radiotherapy theranostics program

Referrers want more structured radiology reports

Quality of care for heart patients does not improve in first year of ACO participation

American Heart Association program leads to substantial improvements in stroke care