Radiology

This blog post is a response to a lecture presented at the 2011 Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) meeting in Chicago. The lecture was entitled, “Outsourcing Emergency Radiology to Teleradiology Companies: The Debate Goes On.”  The presentation offered incorrect, unsupported statements about teleradiology and was based on a few anecdotal stories. I feel these blanket statements denigrated practicing teleradiologists.

The Radiologic Society of NorthAmerica (RSNA) annual meeting is around the corner and our booth will be packed with demos of our scalable technology solutions that support the needs of radiology practices and hospitals nationwide. Our world-class radiologists will be on hand to answer questions and guide you through our innovative radiology solutions. Here is a sneak peak at what you can expect when you visit booth #7513 at RSNA 2011!

Teleradiology plays an important role in improving the standard of care for patients who have the unfortunate circumstance of having their illness present at times when physicians, nurses and hospitals are not always at their best and/or most fully staffed. It has long been known that the standard of care maintained by a hospital at 2 p.m. is not the same standard that is seen at 2 a.m.  And, why is that? Why in this day and age with our level of technology and high levels of training does this persist?

In my opinion, it is a great time to be an information technology professional in health care. I perhaps have a “right angle” view having spent 20+ years in other industries before jumping into health care. For the last 6 years, I have found the “digital deficit” in health care technology to be simply astounding.

Yesterday I provided an overview of the metamorphosis of diagnostic imaging over the past 20 years and described the four main components of a modern radiology practice. Today, we take a look at how the integrated, synergistic approach to diagnostic imaging is greater than the sum of its parts.

My discussion for this entry is in two segments.  In the first segment I will discuss changes in radiology and the separate components of modern radiology practices that need to be integrated to create a more healthy practice, department and hospital.  In the second segment I will discuss the 6 specific enhancements that can be seen when groups synergize the way they practice.

I dabble in many roles at vRad including study interpretation, client services, site visits, CME presentations, and quality assurance (QA) review. It is this last that I have chosen as the topic for my first blog. I, as all vRad radiologists, have felt the painful sting of a QA submission on more than one occasion and know that the awful experience has a powerful effect on both personal and professional pride.  The fact that our red RIS indicator is the same color as my early teachers' corrective pens helps to lessen the impact not at all.  I well remember my own response to my early QAs, and I have noticed a similar pattern in many colleagues in my years of QA review.  I have at last achieved some measure of peace with my own fallibility as well as a significant reduction in my own error rate and I would like to share the insight I believe is most responsible for that state.

“Opportunities to find deeper powers within ourselves come when life seems most challenging.”- Joseph Campbell

There are many reasons (excuses) women give me for not getting a mammogram. “I’m too fat, when I lose 10 pounds I’ll go.” “They’re too small. There can’t possibly be anything bad brewing in there.” Or this one, “I breast fed so I am protected from breast cancer.” I have heard it all and I absolutely sympathize. After all, who wants to stand exposed with only a flimsy gown on in a cold room only to have one’s breasts squished hard in some barbaric looking machine? But, make no mistake, the benefits of getting a yearly mammogram abound once your breasts are about 40 years old. It still remains the single best screening tool we have.