by Marius Ged, on Nov 7, 2022 4:00:39 PM
Welcome to the November edition of our monthly radiology news, brought to you by Ged Lawyers.
Our roundups cover everything from new imaging techniques and research to the latest firm growth strategies for increased revenue. Stay tuned for updates on the latest happenings in medical imaging!
What's New in Florida Radiology
1) Tampa General Hospital (TGH) Acquires Former Palm Beach Radiology; Renames It TGH Imaging
In October, Tampa General Hospital (TGH) took over full-service radiology center Palm Beach Radiology, renaming it TGH Imaging. The radiologists, technologists, and staff employed by Palm Beach Radiology will continue to work in their previously-held positions.
The center provides exams including high-field, short-bore MRI, multidetector CT, and digital X-rays, to name a few, and often the results are available to doctors and patients on the same day administered. The hospital's goal in acquiring the radiology center is to increase the number of clients served and boost efficiency, as well as streamlining operations within the TGH umbrella.
"Adding a highly experienced and clinically excellent team such as Palm Beach Radiology will round out our services offerings to the Palm Beach and Treasure Coast communities," said TGH's senior vice president of enterprise imaging Sherri Lewman.
Industry Updates
1) Google Cloud Rolls Out a New Suite of Tools for Digital Imaging
Recently, Google unveiled its Medical Imaging Suite, which aims to make data more accessible and introduce artificial intelligence programs that help radiologists discover details and trends in patients' scans. The goal of the suite of tools is to help clinicians link images together in patient cases, which simplifies storage and analysis of these images.
Specifically, the suite includes cloud-based file storage that helps clinicians securely share data and images. It will also incorporate a system that allows for photo archiving. The AI components of the suite let users label images, as well as developing training sets for machine-learning programs that will then be able to search for particular features in images.
New Jersey's Hackensack Meridian Health is already using these tools to determine which prostate cancer patients' scans show an increased likelihood of metastasis.
2) Mayo Clinic Releases Research on Demographics, Specialties of Medicare Radiologists
Mayo Clinic radiology researchers recently published a report analyzing radiologist demographics concerning Medicare patients from 2012 and 2019. The researchers' purpose was to determine how efficient radiology care was for the Medicare population and how this care shifted based on state and region.
The number of radiologists per 100,000 Medicare enrollees stayed fairly stable during this period, growing from 79.7 in 2012 to 79.9 in 2019.
However, this statistic did not remain consistent across the United States. The Midwest, Northeast, and West ratios were higher than the national average, with 81.4 radiologists per 100,000 enrollees (1.9 percent over average), 99.3 (24 percent over average), and 80.2 (0.4 percent over average).
The South was lower than the national average with only 69.8 rads per 100,000 enrollees (12 percent below average).
Ratios also varied significantly state by state. Wyoming had the largest discrepancy with only 38.8 rads for every 100,000 enrollees (51.5 percent below average), and Minnesota had the highest ratio, with 161.4 rads per 100,000 (102 percent over average).
Growing Your Practice
1) How to Implement Contrast-Enhanced Digital Mammography (CEDM) in Your Practice
Contrast-Enhanced Digital Mammography (CEDM) has many benefits for clinicians. Specifically, it helps screen approximately 50 percent of women with dense breast tissue, a condition that makes it difficult for clinicians to assess cancer risk on traditional mammograms.
"Initial studies suggest that, for dense breast tissue, CEDM performs better than 2D mammography for detecting malignancy and avoiding false-negative results," writes Christine Murray, Women's Health Product Manager for FUJIFILM Healthcare Americas.
Women with dense breasts are better served by CEDM, though this type of imaging has only recently started growing in popularity. Today, several vendors offer CEDM-equipped mammography systems.
If your clinic decides to implement this kind of mammography, here is what you should keep in mind:
- Determine if your mammography system already can integrate CEDM. Some mammography systems can be equipped with CEDM with only a software update.
- Train your staffers. CEDM requires several steps, including setting up the contrast injector, creatinine testing, and placing an IV line. Staff members should also be prepared for the unlikely risk of allergic reactions after the injection of intravenous contrast material.
- Share the news about your CEDM. When you have your new capability in place, let other clinicians and patients know about your new system so they can take advantage of this cutting-edge imaging.
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