Dear AuntMinnie Member,
MRI sites are getting some welcome guidance on how to ensure patient safety, thanks to a new blueprint published by a coalition of international organizations.
The document finally establishes guidelines on how to set up an organizational structure to manage MRI safety, according to experts. It includes descriptions of duties and job requirements for three new safety professions: MR medical director/MR research director, MR safety officer, and MR safety expert.
Development of the guideline was spurred by the growing number of MRI safety accidents in recent years (such as last week's incident when a wheelchair was sucked into a magnet in China). The document represents the MRI community's effort to police itself -- before the heavy hand of government regulation steps in. Read more about the guidance by clicking here.
While you're in our MRI Community, be sure to check out this story on how Dutch researchers used a combination of conventional and functional MRI to show how the stomach tells the brain it's full when eating -- and how drinking water can affect this process.
Medicare's mixed message for radiology
In other news, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released its Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) last week, and the new rates are a decidedly mixed bag for radiology.
On the positive side, the payment reduction for multiple imaging procedures on the same body part at the same time has been reduced from 25% to 5% -- long a goal of organized radiology. Payments for nuclear medicine and radiation oncology will remain about the same.
But diagnostic radiology will see an overall reduction of about 1%, while interventional radiology will get an even greater cut -- 7%. Find out what other surprises are in the new rates by clicking here, or visit our Imaging Leaders Community at leaders.auntminnie.com.
Imaging accreditation
Finally, visit our Ultrasound Community for part 3 of our series on complying with the latest Intersocietal Accreditation Commission's Quality Improvement requirements, by Judith Buckland of CardioServ. Find out how the system works by clicking here, or visit our Ultrasound Community at ultrasound.auntminnie.com.
