Medical Imaging Blog

Medical Imaging: Our Future

Cardiovascular Medical Imaging in Decline

Cardiovascular Medical ImagingA recent article by cardio writer Larry Husten confirms what most cardiovascular medical imaging specialists already know: The number of cardiocascular procedures performed in hospitals is going down.

From July 2010 to July 2011, hospital cardiovascular procedures – which include medical imaging procedures – declined 9.37 percent and outpatient procedures declined 6.28, according to a report by Wells Fargo. And this happened during a time when the number of most other medical procedures went up. Moreover, it was a continuation of a steady long-term decline in cardiovascular procedures.

Why the decline? Husten suggests four causes:

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Boldly Going Where No Medical Imaging Has Gone Before

Medical Imaging $100,000 doesn’t amount to much in the world of medical imaging. But in developing countries, it makes medical imaging available to thousands of people – and that’s just the first benefit.

Imaging the World (ITW), a US  based non-profit that develops medical training and technologies to bring medical imaging to remote areas around the world, recently received a $100,000 grant from Grand Challenges Explorations, which funds scientists and researchers worldwide to explore ideas that can break the mold in how we solve persistent global health and development challenges. Grand Challenges Explorations is one of many global health initiatives funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

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Breast Cancer Imaging Controversies Continue

Medical Imaging and breast cancerThe preventive mammogram, a long-time staple of medical imaging clinics, is increasingly under attack. And given the inconclusive evidence from researchers from both sides of the debate about the usefulness of preventive mammograms, the attacks won’t go away anytime soon.

In the latest issue of Radiology, proponents and opponents of preventive mammograms each ran an editorial.

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Attention Radiologists: Get Ready for ACOs by Taking the Lead

medical imaging, radiology and ACOsThe very mention of “ACOs” can cause tremors through the medical imaging community, but it’s time for radiologists and other medical imaging professionals to prepare to transition to an ACO care model, said Ascendian Health Care Consulting’s Jef Williams and Shawn McKenzie at the recent AHRA annual meeting.

The Accountable Care Organization or ACO is the creation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) passed in 2010. It’s designed to improve patient care and bring down (or at least control the growth of) medical costs by bringing several types of medical organizations together to meet specific performance targets. Payment will move away from a fee-for-service-based model and toward an outcome-based model, leading physicians and other healthcare professionals to be less “siloed” and more coordinated with other healthcare workers in their efforts to care for patients.

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The Importance of Having a Medical Imaging Business Strategy

medical imaging, medical imaging businessDeveloping a strategy for a medical imaging practice can be daunting, says Brian Baker, but it’s absolutely necessary for survival and growth in today’s medical marketplace.

Baker is the president of Regents Health Resources, a Tennessee-based medical imaging consulting firm. His comments on developing strategic plans were delivered at the recent AHRA in Dallas.

Baker likes to use the example of Intermountain Healthcare to demonstrate his points.

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Note to Medical Imaging Professionals: Play in the Sandbox Together

Medical Imaging, CVIS, PACS, EHRIf cardiologists, radiologists, and other medical imaging professionals don’t play well in the sandbox together, the federal government will make them do so – or perhaps tear up the sandbox and build something of its own devising.

That’s the message of a recent issue of Health Imaging & IT. Ever-advancing technology may have been the bread and butter of medical imaging a decade ago, but now its cooperation.

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McKesson CVIS Revolutionizes a Hospital’s Medical Imaging

CVIS - Medical ImagingWhat can a CVIS do? “With Horizon Cardiology…I can instantly see everything I need from one reading station. As soon as I sign the report, it’s instantaneously in the electronic patient record,” says William Suarez, chief of pediatric cardiology and associate professor at Mercy Children’s Hospital in Toledo, Ohio. And for him, that was a huge change.

Before Mercy implemented the CVIS from McKesson, its pediatric cardiologists regularly dealt with damaged video cassettes, slow couriers, and difficulty comparing multi-modality images. The last problem was especially troublesome, for it made it difficult to compare images of children as they grew.

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McKesson CVIS and NCDR Solutions

CVIS and the NCDRA recent article in Cath Lab Digest highlights the importance of having a good CVIS.

The National Cardiovascular Data Registry® (NCDR), run by the American College of Cardiology (ACC) in cooperation with other cardiovascular associations, is one of the many excellent medical tools made possible by advances in information technology. Participating hospitals and practices send pertinent clinical and demographic data to NCDR, which is then aggregated with similar data from around the country, analyzed, and published quarterly.

Currently, ACC maintains six NCDR registries, although there are plans to add more.

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The Future of Medical Imaging: Frank Seidelmann

Future of Medical ImagingFrank Seidelmann has worked in radiology for 35 years and is currently chair of the board and clinical director of neuroradiology at Radisphere National Radiology Group in Beachwood, Ohio. He was recently asked by imagingBiz.com about the past and future changes in medical imaging. Here are the summarized highlights of the interview:

  • Specialization and easy image transfer revolutionized medical imaging practice. As medical imaging technology improved, hospitals went from using medical imaging infrequently to demanding it in many different fields. PACS enabled radiologists and other medical imaging professionals to consult with one another easily, even if they were in different locations.
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Techs in Medical Imaging – How Should They Be Used?

Medical Imaging techsIf it can be automated, it will be automated. That’s what social analyst Daniel Pink wrote in his best-selling book A Whole New Mind. He also wrote that this simple fact is forcing people in developed countries to rethink job categories, and a recent article in the Journal of Diagnostic Imaging shows that radiologists, cardiologists and other medical imaging professionals are doing just that.

The article focuses on post-processing, or the reconstruction of images to make them cleaner visualizations. Turning a piece of medical imaging into a sharp 3D image, for example, is already “automatable” in some sense, and increased processing speeds – which are inevitable – will make automation even easier.

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