2008 September

Health imaging is one area of healthcare that has seen an unprecedented surge in utilization in the past decade. It is perhaps the fastest rising medical expenditure in the United States with an annual growth rate of 9 percent, nearly one-third more than the annual increase in general medical expenditures (approximately 6 percent). As such, policy-makers and payors are increasingly demanding evidence-based data to justify the utilization of many types of imaging procedures.

This month, were looking at how a pair of cutting-edge practices has assembled the various IT components to create an integrated infrastructure that support workflow and high-quality patient care.

The physiological nature of PET/CT is proving useful in the detection of coronary artery disease (CAD), providing answers to questions of cardiac function while determining cardiac risk to reduce thepercentage of complications and deaths.

Radiography remains orthopedics’ mainstay, with more than 75 percent of imaging studies still x-ray based. Digital radiography is the flavor of choice in 2008, making good business sense in a digital environment. The combination of remote access to imaging results, better management of large imaging volumes and more accurate patient diagnoses are key selling points for using DR in orthopedic imaging, whether it is in a small community hospital, critical access center, outpatient facility or orthopedic physician practice.

Like America's obsession with going green—radiology has a new appreciation for ergonomic-driven reading productivity for radiologists. Rightly so. Procedures are increasing in most locales as are the number of images per study, while radiologists are reading more and more studies each year, most often with no increases in staff or radiologists. The answer is more adjustable and ergonomic furniture to make radiologists more comfortable and thus more productive. If you look down the hall, chances are the radiology room has some new creative comforts or plans are in the works. If not, grab some inspiration.

To deal with increasing volume and to reduce wait times, many hospital emergency departments (EDs) as well as radiology groups are responding to staffing shortfalls and high patient volumes by signing on a teleradiology service provider for daytime or evening image interpretation coverage.

As U.S. sites ramp up virtual colonography programs, experienced providers weigh in on software and CAD.