Is It Better Than a Boat Show?
BY BRADLEY M. TIPLER, M.D.
I like boat shows. I haven't lived near the water or owned a boat for 12 years, but I still like boat shows. They remind me of good times, they give me things to dream about, and all the beautiful workmanship inspires me to go back to my shop and build something. The RSNA meeting does none of these things, but it is still a great show.
Apparently, a lot of radiologists don't think so. As of today, registration this year is around 54,000. Of these, about 15% are U.S. radiologists. Why do people come? I can't speak for everyone, but I come for a variety of reasons, and they vary from year to year.
The technical exhibits are actually a lot like a boat show. You can see all the latest models and new gizmos. They're not "in the water," so you can't take them out for a spin or see how they handle in a storm (e.g., a 250-lb ultrasound patient to R/O pancreatic mass). You can do a lot of comparison shopping in a short time, and at least eliminate a lot of equipment from your list. Last year I was looking at PACS equipment. This year we're buying ultrasound and mammo machines. I'm still looking at PACS, but it is so overwhelming we hired a consultant to guide us through the mine fields.
The courses are great–lots of variety and up-to-date information. But I find this meeting a very inefficient way to get CME credits. The scientific sessions are also good. If you have an area of interest, there are bound to be some current papers being presented on that topic. You usually have to listen to some real turkeys too, but at least they're only six minutes long.
The best parts are the ideas and visions that get presented and discussed, both formally during the day and informally day and night. Yesterday, Dr. David Frasier and Dr. Elias Zerhouni, and today Dr. Carl Jaffe gave some thought-provoking lectures. If you get to read transcripts of their talks, you should. But being here, I have heard reactions and extensions of those thoughts that would never have occurred to me. This is good, because even if I can't come up with these visionary concepts, I can steal them and use them in my own practice.
Here's a simple proposal I heard this morning. As a business, we need to identify our customers and then focus our attention on meeting their needs. In my rural practice that means the patients and their primary-are providers (who are often ER doctors). With this in mind, look at your reports. Are they helping your clinicians? Are you saying obvious things like "surgical consultation recommended" or "needs clinical correlation?"
Consider meeting with the different groups of referring physicians in your practice and asking them how you can make your reports more helpful. In my hospital this would be easy, and probably well received. Then consider having everyone in your group use this standard format. That might take an act of God. And if you really want to get radical, send the report to the patient, with a copy to the referring physician.
Today was a good day. There are neat things happening in radiology, and when you're here they are easy to focus on.
"The future's so bright, I have to wear shades."
