Along with determining how to be successful when transitioning to new, value-based models, radiologists must look for new ways to better engage their health systems in order to further improve patient outcomes while decreasing cost

To understand the issues facing radiologists, it is important to identify the changes over the past decade that have transformed how radiologists are being reimbursed and the impact this has had on their jobs. Significant declines in reimbursements, followed by rapidly changing payment models and interoperability initiatives, are all coming to a head under the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), one of two value-based reimbursement models under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA).

Healthcare providers and historians alike are all too familiar with the images and inconveniences of the large, bulky X-ray machines of the past. Since X-rays were first discovered in 1895, the equipment has evolved as advancements were made into digital radiography (DR) and computerized imaging. Until recently, however, it seemed to many that any changes were simply new features on an old machine.

As attacks on patients’ personal information become more sophisticated, radiology and other departments must work together with IT, government and industry to better protect their patients

The driving force of healthcare technology advancement in recent years has focused on making it easier to share information among all members of the care team — including patients — to facilitate higher-quality care. Allowing greater connectivity comes with a price, however, as it makes personal health information (PHI) and other personal data more vulnerable to those with ill intentions. Cyberattacks on healthcare institutions as well as data breaches regularly make headlines as various individuals and entities seek to use this information for their own personal gain. To date, providers of all specialties — including radiology — have had trouble defending themselves against these invasions, and they must improve if they hope to maintain the trust of their patients.
Look for an integrated system solution that meets your clinical needs from an imaging perspective

Is it time for you to replace your picture archiving and communication system (PACS)? Do you need a better solution? Our saturated market still has forces that raise this question across providers of all shapes and sizes. Legacy system deficiencies, disparate specialty PACS, the need to leverage a PACS for enterprise imaging, or even fearing the arc of success or failure of a current vendor can have those at system-level administration all the way to executive leadership wondering what path forward will provide the most stable, robust and competitive solution.

In establishing the new Southeast Cancer Center (Cape Girardeau, Mo.), clinic officials not only had the opportunity to offer the latest care technology and evidence-based therapies, they were also able to create a seamless, positive patient experience that supports patient healing. Essential to implementing this vision was a single, unified and universal care management system (Mosaiq OIS by Elekta) that provides all members of the multidisciplinary team the information they need, at the moment they need it, to care for every patient.

Proton therapy doesn’t get as near to the heart and other internal organs as X-ray therapy does. (Image courtesy of Provision Cares Proton Therapy Center.)
The secondary cancer risk for those being treated with IMRT can be up to 10 percent greater than being treated with proton therapy. (Image courtesy of Provision Cares Proton Therapy Center.)

Thirty-three. Twenty-nine. Sixty-four. These are the ages of the breast cancer patients who have walked through the Provision Cares Proton Therapy Center in Knoxville, Tenn. With decades of life ahead of them, they face a cure that could be worse than their disease.

Carestream Health will demonstrate its new zero footprint Workflow Orchestrator that can enable greater productivity, quality and collaboration for radiology reading workflows at the 2017 Radiological Society of North America Annual Meeting, Nov. 26-Dec. 1 in Chicago. These modules are currently available for order and are expected to begin shipping in the first quarter of 2018.

November 3, 2017 — A new study published in PLOS ONE demonstrates that Videssa Breast, a multi-protein biomarker blood test for breast cancer, is unaffected by breast density and can reliably rule out breast cancer in women with both dense and non-dense breast tissue. Nearly half of all women in the U.S. have dense breast tissue.

DX X 100
Mobile RadPro
Carestream DRX-Revolution Mobile System
Fujifilm FDR AQRO
GE Optima XR240amx

As healthcare in the United States shifts focus to providing higher-quality care while keeping costs down, workflow efficiency is a guiding bedrock principle for providers. From this standpoint, few technologies have demonstrated greater promise for maximizing clinical and operational efficiency than mobile digital radiography (DR). Putting digital X-ray capability onto a mobile cart-based system allows healthcare facilities to bring the radiology department directly to the patient, allowing faster diagnosis, and in turn quicker exam turnaround and discharge times. As the the technology continues to evolve, vendors have focused on improving battery life, durability and wireless connectivity to further maximize the utility of these versatile systems.

November 3, 2017 — The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) recently welcomed the organization Disruptive Women in Health Care to its ranks, building on HIMSS’ successful Women in Health IT (information technology) initiative.

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