SCAR plans events for the news media

GREAT FALLS, VA - In response to growing demands for news on hot-button issues surrounding the intersection of medical imaging and information technology, the Society for Computer Applications in Radiology is expanding opportunities for media coverage at its annual meeting in Vancouver, BC, May 20 to 23.

In addition to a fully staffed and wired press room, SCAR will be offering press conferences with experts in the field and total access to the educational and scientific presentations that make the society unique among professional organizations. Media representatives can participate in hands-on demonstrations of new technologies, tour imaging departments in local hospitals, and arrange one-on-one interviews with experts.

"The combination of rapidly expanding digital imaging applications and new laws regulating the protection of health information has focused a tremendous amount of media attention on precisely those topics on which SCAR has been building a base of knowledge for more than two decades," said Dr. Bruce Reiner, SCAR chair.

SCAR-sponsored press conferences will include:

SCAR: Opening New Frontiers
Thursday, May 20, 12:00 to 1:00 p.m.
Hear participants from the opening and closing sessions, as well as "stars" of the gala opening film, "Digital Eye for the Analog Guy," discuss the most talked-about topics in medical informatics. Lunch provided.

Security in the Imaging Environment:
Increasing Challenges, Cutting-Edge Solutions
Saturday, May 22, 9:45 to 10:30 a.m.
Leaders in medical information security join editors and authors from the latest SCAR primer, "Security in the Digital Medical Environment," to answer questions about patient information protection and backup.

Always On, Always Available:
New Access Technologies Change the Who, Where, and When of Medical Imaging
Saturday, May 22, 2:45 to 3:30 p.m.
New technologies - including PDAs and remote reading - are changing the way imaging is practiced. Innovators will discuss their experience with new avenues of imaging access and reporting.

Several vendors have scheduled press conferences (see www.scarnet.org for complete details). Press representatives will also want to attend the 2nd Annual SCAR Media Event and Luncheon (May 21, 12:00 to 1:15 p.m.) sponsored by Fujifilm Medical Systems USA, which will focus on PACS.