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.

Radiology group cyberattack exposes private info of over 150,000 patients
The information exposed during the attack included names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and service charges.
Hospital redesigns radiology 2nd opinion service, scoring 92% collection success rate
OSU Medical Center has addressed common challenges including insufficient documentation, miscommunication, and the risk of repeat imaging.
Experts share recipe to reduce radiologist recommendations for unnecessary extra imaging
Education and other initiatives helped cut the rate of radiologist recommendations for additional imaging by 44% compared to a control site.
The top 25 heart hospitals in the United States
Newsweek and Statista have crunched the data and ranked the top U.S. hospitals for cardiac care. Did your facility make the cut?
Death from heart disease more common in rural areas—what can cardiologists do?
Rishi Wadhera, MD, detailed new data that show how socioeconomic factors are driving cardiovascular death rates, especially in younger adults.

Choosing Wisely alone not enough to drop low-value imaging of clogged neck arteries

That’s according to the results of a new investigation of value at the Veterans Affairs Health System, published in JAMA Network Open.

Announcing the winners of Radiology Business Journal’s 3rd annual Imaging Innovation Awards

A panel of judges winnowed the final list down to five after receiving dozens of submissions from some of the biggest names in imaging.

Imaging watchdog Covera Health inks first payer partnership aimed at boosting radiology quality

The NYC startup made waves last year when it teamed with Walmart to help the retail giant guide employees toward high-value diagnostics.

peripherally inserted central catheters (PICC)

Guidelines produce sizable drop in PICC line use, with radiologists leading the way

Peripherally inserted central catheters are a widely used and essential method for venous access, but they can lead to major complications such as infections and thrombosis.

Skyrocketing use of emergency brain imaging is out of step with overall ED trends

The findings raise questions about imaging overutilization, Emory University radiology experts wrote in JACR.

Radiologists make significantly more mistakes on the night shift than they do during the day

Errors increased during the back-half of the late shift compared to the earlier portion, Mayo Clinic imaging experts reported in Radiology.

Diagnostic imaging serves no purpose in assessing breast pain, internal medicine docs stress

In a recent JAMA editorial, three UT Southwestern Medical Center internists implored their peers to shelve this low-value practice.

Mask study finds one style actually increases transmission risk

Among 14 common types of protective face mask is one that may do more harm than good.

Quality

Radiology group cyberattack exposes private info of over 150,000 patients

Hospital redesigns radiology 2nd opinion service, scoring 92% collection success rate

Experts share recipe to reduce radiologist recommendations for unnecessary extra imaging

The top 25 heart hospitals in the United States

Death from heart disease more common in rural areas—what can cardiologists do?