Dear AuntMinnie Member,
This week's American College of Radiology annual meeting (ACR 2016) is underway in Washington, DC, and we're bringing you daily coverage of the show.
First up is an article on how to save money -- and reduce false positives -- in CT lung cancer screening. Researchers found that using the ACR's Lung-RADS criteria for working up suspicious nodules could save millions of dollars over using the criteria employed by the landmark National Lung Screening Trial. Find out how by clicking here.
In a similar vein, mammography facilities looking to reduce their recall rates would do well to read this article on four basic steps your practice can take to reduce false positives and the workup they inevitably lead to.
Meanwhile, referring physicians seem to prefer the human touch when deciding about appropriate imaging exams to order for their patients, according to another presentation from ACR 2016. A group from Delaware queried referring doctors about whether they'd rather interact with a real radiologist or with decision-support software when ordering imaging studies. Get the rest of the details by clicking here.
Is ordering another head CT scan for a patient who's already had a negative study a textbook case of imaging overutilization? Not necessarily, according to this story on a presentation that described when a second exam might be warranted.
But ACR 2016 isn't the only medical conference going on this week. The American Thoracic Society has been in session in San Francisco, and International Editor Eric Barnes stopped by to hear Dr. Ella Kazerooni's thoughts on CT lung cancer screening. She believes that screening creates an opportunity for radiologists to get out of the reading room and take on a greater profile in front of patients. Learn more by clicking here.
