Dear AuntMinnie Member,
Should CT coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring be added to the list of risk factors that are used to determine if a person is at risk of heart disease?
Two cardiac societies -- the American Heart Association (AHA) and the American College of Cardiology (ACC) -- think so, and they affirmed their support for CT CAC testing this week. They think that CAC scores should be added to traditional risk factors such as Framingham scores to determine whether individuals should receive interventions like statin therapy.
The problem is that the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended against the routine use of CAC scoring last year. The question is whether the joint AHA/ACC statement will prompt the group to change its position. Stay tuned.
Mammography really does work
In other news, a new study released this past week tackled the debate over the benefits and harms of mammography screening, with the goal of determining exactly how many lives have been saved through the combination of breast screening and improved therapies.
The results are stunning. Researchers found that since 1989, nearly 615,000 deaths from breast cancer were averted through 2018. And new advances could push that number even higher in years to come.
The new findings ought to finally settle the debate over the effectiveness of breast screening. They ought to -- but unfortunately we know they really won't.
Multimedia reporting
Finally, we were pleased to bring you Senior Editor Erik L. Ridley's reporting from the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) meeting this week in Orlando, FL. One of his top stories from the meeting was on the use of multimedia reporting, or radiology reports with dynamic content such as hyperlinks, tables, and graphics.
Another hot topic at HIMSS 2019 was workflow orchestration, or the use of advanced software to coordinate and automate workflow across multiple radiology sites. While in Orlando, Mr. Ridley also caught up with PACSman Michael J. Cannavo, market research analyst Stephen Holloway, and radiologist Dr. Cree Gaskin for video interviews.
Have a great weekend, and to stay on top of everything happening in radiology, be sure to follow us on Twitter!
