Dear AuntMinnie Member,
Do you remember the case of Operation Backlash, a big sting operation in Southern California designed to crack down on workers' compensation fraud? Well, the investigation netted at least one radiologist from Beverly Hills, CA, who this week received a sentence of 10 years in prison.
The radiologist was convicted in December 2017 of 39 counts related to payments made to referring physicians to send patients for imaging services such as MRI and ultrasound scans. He allegedly used phony consulting contracts and front companies with elaborate names like "Line of Sight" and "Desert Blue Moon."
The radiologist not only got prison time for the fraud charges but also received an additional penalty of obstruction of justice for comments he made on the witness stand. Read more by clicking here.
While we're walking down memory lane, do you recall the case of David Kwiatkowski, the radiologic technologist addicted to fentanyl who infected dozens of patients with hepatitis C due to dirty needles he used? He's still in jail, but ramifications of the case continue to reverberate through the court system. Several civil lawsuits are underway charging that hospitals he worked at should have alerted authorities sooner when they fired him for diverting drugs. Get an update by clicking here.
Get these stories and more in our Imaging Leaders Community, at leaders.auntminnie.com.
Dealing with medical CDs
It's one of the biggest headaches in radiology: dealing with patient images on CDs. Despite years and multiple attempts to find a solution, it's a problem that still occurs every day, according to PACS educator Herman Oosterwijk of OTech.
Mr. Oosterwijk offers his thoughts on the dilemma in a new column in our Imaging Informatics Community. He outlines the reasons why this has been such a persistent problem and offers a few solutions. Check it out by clicking here, or visit the community at informatics.auntminnie.com.
Virtual reality for brain aneurysms
Finally, be sure to visit our Advanced Visualization Community to learn about work being done in China to use virtual reality to diagnose brain aneurysms. Researchers tested special headsets for viewing CT scans in a virtual reality environment, comparing the technique with conventional methods. Find out how well it worked by clicking here.
While you're in the community, check out this story on the use of a 3D reconstruction algorithm to detect subtle spaces between arthritic joints on CT scans. These stories and more are available in our Advanced Visualization Community at av.auntminnie.com.
