Dear AuntMinnie Member,
Everyone in radiology knows that accountable care organizations (ACOs) have arrived (you may already be in one), but how are they affecting the provision of imaging services?
We explore that question in a new article in our Women's Imaging Community. Researchers from Johns Hopkins Hospital wanted to learn more about the effects of new value-based payment models, so they examined mammography screening rates over three years at more than 200 ACOs.
Their findings? They saw a small but statistically significant increase in mammography screening rates over the study period -- increases that were not seen in traditional fee-for-service plans. Learn more by clicking here.
CT dose reduction in Middle East
Reducing radiation dose is a global issue. Fortunately, radiologists all over the world are making progress, as evidenced by a new article in our AuntMinnie Middle East special section.
The story describes how researchers from multiple centers in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates reduced dose in coronary CT angiography (CCTA) and coronary calcium scoring studies. The group was able to reduce the median dose for CCTA exams from 15.7 mSv in 2007 to 2.5 mSv last year. Find out how they did it clicking here.
In other news in the section, researchers from Turkey have shared their work on developing an x-ray-based technique for determining the age of young adults -- an important issue when dealing with migrants and victims of human smuggling. Learn more by clicking here, or visit the section at me.auntminnie.com.
Radiation safety app
Could you (or your patients) use a personal radiation safety assistant? That's the idea behind RADiDOC, a mobile app designed to be used by both physicians and patients to monitor radiation dose from multiple imaging studies. Find out how it works by clicking here for our latest Mobile App Spotlight, or visit our Imaging Informatics Community at informatics.auntminnie.com.
