2008 April

First do no harm. Although often believed to be the words ofHippocrates and a phrase in the Hippocratic Oath taken by physicians invarious forms, they are not. Hippocrates phraseology reads like this:“Declare the past, diagnose the present, foretell the future; practicethese acts. As to diseases, make a habit of two things—to help, or atleast to do no harm.”

Medical imaging procedures offer unprecedented abilities for physiciansto detect, diagnose and treat a wide range of diseases and medicalproblems.

After more than five years on the market, 3D options continue to evolveto better meet the diverse needs of radiologists, cardiologists and avariety of specialists.

When it comes to reading rooms, perfection exists in the convergence ofscience and personal preference. Many factors, such as the distancefrom your eye to the monitors, aren’t in dispute; for others, such asthe type of chair, ideal room temperature and reading position arepersonal to individual radiologists. An environment that mergesessential ergonomics with individual needs creates the perfect readingroom with more comfortable, less stressed, more productive radiologists.

More than 1,700 healthcare organizations have installed the EMC Centeracontent-addressed storage infrastructure from EMC Corporation with goodreason.

Utilizing thin-client-based advanced visualization, clinicians canaccess tools from any location—fostering more efficient patient care,physician communication, education and research—all at a reasonablecost.

Acquisition speed, post-processing automation and ever-increasingapplications all combine to make efficient multidetector CT workflowimperative. Training, high-functioning yet easy to use workstations, aplethora of protocols and more help them make the most of the modality.

As remote reading gains in popularity and adoption increases, whatbegan as a way to provide nighttime coverage to busy hospitals andfacilities, extra help while radiologists vacationed or as a temporarystaffing solution, has now evolved to include weekend coverage, daytimeinterpretations, preliminary and final as well as subspecialtyinterpretations for small and large healthcare organizations.

It takes a lot of work to successfully implement an electronic medicalrecord system. Those who’ve done it say you cannot underestimate theplanning and preparation required, from workflow to training tomotivating everyone involved.

Since computed radiography (CR) emerged in the United States roughly 25years ago, the digital x-ray technology has continued to evolve interms of diagnostic image quality, affordability and portability. Morerecently, prices of CR systems have fallen and adoption has increased.Many healthcare facilities who didn’t have CR have felt the time isright to invest in it as CR is a need for large hospitals and academicmedical centers as well as community hospitals and imaging centers. Itsdecreased size, lower price points and flexibility have it on thepurchasing must list of many.

In the drive towards increased efficiencies, either implementing or upgrading automated physician reporting systems is a major goal for many imaging facilities. From computerized provider order entry (CPOE) to cardiovascular information systems practices and clinical departments are bringing new technology online designed to automate as much as possible of the physician reporting process. But to make it work, you’ve got to get your physicians on board.

Standardization, clinical decision support, integration and structuredreporting all are part of speech recognition’s path to the future, withmany vendors well on their way to offering these advances in the nearfuture. Some are already on the market.

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