Health Imaging & IT - January 2008 - (Page 12)

NEWS UPDATE Clinical Studies RSNA responds to NEJM study: CT radiation could cause 2% of U.S cancers CT scans could be responsible for as much as 2 percent of all cancers in the United States in the next 20 to 30 years due to radiation exposure, according to a study conducted at the Columbia University Medical Center in New York City and published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Authors David Brenner, PhD, DSc, and Eric J. Hall, DPhil, DSc, discussed the growth in the use of CT and the increase in patient radiation exposure as a result. “It is estimated that more than 62 million CT scans are currently obtained each year in the United States, as compared with about 3 million in 1980,” they wrote. RSNA responded to the article, saying it “is important that one of the salient points from the authors is not overlooked, that ‘from an individual standpoint, when a CT scan is justified by medical need, the associated risk is small relative to the diagnostic information obtained.’” The organization emphasized that there “is overwhelming agreement in the radiology community that there is risk with CT, but that the potential benefits far outweigh this small risk.” Reports & Surveys Americans say EHRs worth the privacy risks Based on a Wall Street Journal poll, threequarters of the 2,153 survey respondents agreed that patients could receive better care if doctors and researchers were able to share information using EHRs and 63 percent agreed such record sharing could decrease errors. Also, 55 percent agreed the transition could reduce healthcare costs, compared with 15 percent who disagree. However, about one-quarter of those polled remained unsure whether EHRs can provide these benefits. RHIOs not advancing health IT New era of brain imaging on the horizon with 9.4T The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) has completed safety trials on a 9.4 Tesla MRI system, which may offer physicians a real-time view of biological processes in the human brain. The study, supported by UIC and the Illinois Capital Fund, was published in the November issue of Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Researchers and physicians said they hope that the 9.4T will usher in a “new era of brain imaging in which they will be able to observe metabolic processes and customize healthcare.” The researchers said current MRI systems visualize water molecules to track biochemical processes. By visualizing the sodium ions involved in those processes, the 9.4T system permits researchers to directly follow important energyconsuming processes in the cellular machinery in the brain. MRI image of a thought. Photo: UIC Center for Magnetic Resonance Research © University of Illinois The development of RHIOs may not be effective in advancing healthcare IT, based on a new report by the IT and Innovation Foundation. The 23-page report said that “the strategy of building the network from the bottom up by establishing many RHIOs throughout the country is not working” and calls for “a renewed national strategy for advancing healthcare IT.” The report identified more than 100 RHIOs that have been established across the country, and found the majority are financially unsustainable. Future U.S. healthcare costs to consume half of economy CT imaging accurately detects incidental adrenal masses If adrenal masses are found incidentally during a CT scan, and the masses look benign, they do not require additional imaging follow-up, according to a study published in the November issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology. “There has been little consensus among different disciplines and even among radiologists about how to manage these incidental masses found on the CT scans, and that uncertainty was the impetus for conducting this study,” said Julie Song, MD, lead author of the study conducted at Brown University in Providence, R.I. According to the results, 318 of the 321 masses were confirmed to be benign and clinically insignificant. “Our study showed none of these incidentally detected adrenal masses were malignant in our low-risk population and follow-up imaging work up appears to have a limited role,” Song said. 12 Health Imaging & IT | January 2008 Healthcare costs will account for about 50 percent of the U.S economy over the next 75 years, according to a Congressional Budget Office report. The report also states Medicare spending combined will grow to 19 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 75 years, which currently accounts for 4 percent of the GDP. STAY CONNECTED: For daily news, log onto HealthImaging.com HealthImaging.com http://healthimaging.com http://HealthImaging.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Health Imaging & IT - January 2008

Health Imaging & IT Table of Contents On the Web The Enterprise: Is More Better? News Update A Look Inside Next-Generation Multidetector CT Convention Spotlight: RSNA in Review RIS/PACS in the Imaging Center Sweden: A Study in Mammography Excellence The Votes are in: Yea for Speech in U.S. Capital & Beyond Subspecialty Reading Services: Quality Reads, Peace of Mind, 24/7 Enterprise Lung CAD Eases Workflow Advertisers Index Company Index Coming Soon Stat Sheet

Health Imaging & IT - January 2008

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