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.

CMS to penalize 2,500+ hospitals this year for excessive readmissions in years past

Coronavirus chaos notwithstanding, more than 80% of penalty-eligible hospitals will feel the pain of readmission reductions during the current fiscal year.

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Paltry low-dose CT lung cancer screening numbers signal need for population health strategy shift

Cancer experts from China detailed some of their possible fixes in a recently published JAMA Network Open study. 

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USPSTF recommends lowering age for CT colonography screenings, drawing ‘strong’ support from ACR

The Preventative Services Task Force wants to cut the starting age for CTC and other methods by five years, and increase efforts to reach minority populations. 

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Cigna signs multi-year deal with Envision Healthcare to keep its 300 radiologists in-network

The Nashville-based imaging provider said the pact ensures that commercial and exchange plan members will have uninterrupted access to its services. 

AMA: 4 ways to eat healthily from social media’s medical smorgasbord

With their broad reach across all demographic categories, social media platforms are connecting healthcare influencers and stakeholders across every area of activity in which one might hold a stake. Of course, that’s a good thing and a bad thing.

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The 5 most common mistakes to avoid in radiology quality improvement projects

Hubris is the fundamental failure of most such endeavors, Stanford imaging experts wrote in JACR

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Radiology department uses a systems-based approach to reduce unscheduled imaging orders by 49%

Harvard experts recently detailed their System for Coordinating Orders for Radiology Exams, or SCORE, in JACR

Needed medical equipment going unused in hospitals due to avoidable repair lapses

The COVID crisis has swollen the demand for repairs to hospitals’ overworked medical equipment at the same time it has, in effect, shrunken the field of qualified repair workers.