Facility Management

What are the key factors that facilitate a collegial work environment in radiology?

In newly issued proposals addressing changes to coverage for Medicare services in 2025, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced its intent to provide coverage of computed tomography colonography (CTC) for Medicare beneficiaries in 2025.

In the study of over 1,400 women with breast cancer, researchers noted that Black women with dense breasts or lobular histology were significantly less likely to have preoperative MRI exams than White women with the same clinical characteristics.

What are the key drivers for facilitating staff retention in radiology?

Emphasizing core concepts of sound ergonomics, accessibility, inclusivity, personalization, and convenient storage can help foster reading room environments with minimal distraction and optimal productivity.

Noting significant variation with facilities for achieving passing criteria for mammography positioning, researchers found that structured interventions, ranging from weekly auditing of images taken by technologists to mechanisms for feedback from radiologists to technologists, led to significant improvements in a multicenter study.

While radiologists interpreted approximately 99 percent of all non-cardiac CT, MRI and nuclear medicine studies in hospital and emergency department settings for Medicare beneficiaries, new research shows significantly less radiologist review of cardiac imaging and office-based imaging.

Catch up on the top radiology content of the past week.

There was over a 31 percent decline in radiology-only practices and over a 25 percent decrease of practices employing 10-24 radiologists, according to new research examining consolidation trends in radiology from 2014 to 2023.

Offering access to over 110 AI applications, the enterprise imaging platform enables radiologists to test, deploy and monitor the use of AI technologies.

In addition to detecting missed lung nodules on X-rays, the AI-powered Qure.ai lung cancer continuum platform reportedly automates lung nodule measurement on CT scans and facilitates multimodality reporting.

While standard approaches to imaging may be elusive amid shifting protocols from different facilities and different specialties, there is a balancing act of flexible accommodation and pushing back against unreasonable requests.

Catch up on the most-well viewed radiology content in May 2024.

While radiologists and other providers may be discouraged by insurer denials saying the use of a technological advance is “unproven and investigational,” 82 percent of appeals for prior authorization denials were approved in 2021.

Could the principles of operant conditioning reinforce more of a simpatico relationship between radiologists and technologists?

Catch up on the most-well viewed radiology content in April 2024.

A new study shows that GPT-4 may offer comparable error detection rates to those of attendings and radiology residents in reviewing radiology reports, but researchers noted key caveats as well.

Catch up on the top radiology content of the past week.

In an attempt to navigate the imbalance between rising imaging volume and a shortage of radiologists, researchers proposed a variety of measures that may provide additional resources, bolster productivity, and help mitigate burnout.

Catch up on the most-well viewed radiology content in March 2024.

The old adage about bad customer service experiences being shared with 10 other people may apply to objectionable hiring practices in radiology as well.

Women comprise nearly 80 percent of breast imaging departments and 45 percent of pediatric radiology departments at academic institutions, but burnout, the COVID-19 pandemic and discrimination have impeded further progress in radiology, according to a recently published literature review.

Emphasizing the gravity of the ongoing workforce shortage in radiology, these authors recommend a change agenda focusing on expanded numbers of residency positions, reassessment of educational pathways, maintaining a strong presence in hospital settings and practice level initiatives to reduce administrative burden and achieve appropriate reimbursement beyond RVU measurements.

The newly launched Progressive Loading feature, available through RamSoft’s OmegaAI software, reportedly offers radiologist rapid uploading of images that is faster than on-site networks and other cloud-based systems regardless of the network radiologists are using.

Autosave functionality for dictation software and availability of prior imaging are elusive yet very practical essentials that could eliminate a fair amount of redundancy with radiology reports.

Catch up on the top radiology content of the past week.

Proactive approaches to training, compensation issues and staff feedback are hallmarks for engaging and retaining top radiology staff.

Given a certain perception that calling out sick is frowned upon in health care, radiologists and other health care workers may feel conflicted about being absent even if an illness has reduced their capacity for getting work done on a given day.

A prospective employer’s willingness or unwillingness to negotiate notice periods in a contact may signal the difference between a worthwhile opportunity and a one-way, dead-end job.

Catch up on the top radiology content of the past week.