Dear AuntMinnie Member,
Some hospitals are still performing postoperative CT exams more often than they should in pediatric patients with complicated appendicitis.
But the Pediatric Surgical Quality Collaborative (PSQC) aims to change that. The PSQC, a quality improvement partnership between children’s hospitals and the American College of Surgeons National Surgery Quality Improvement Program Pediatric, recently studied the factors influencing the use of postoperative CT in this vulnerable group of patients.
The multi-institutional research team found several factors tied to low utilization of postoperative CT, including a belief that ultrasound's strengths outweighed its weaknesses. What else was on their list? Click here to access this issue’s featured story.
In other radiology administration news, the number of PET scans was up significantly in the U.S. in 2023 compared with 2022. A newly published report from AuntMinnie.com sister company IMV Medical Information Division includes all the data.
Sustainability is a hot topic in radiology. At the recent ECR 2024 in Vienna, researchers revealed how a green project substantially reduced energy use by substituting ultrasound for certain types of x-ray or CT exams. Click here to learn more.
Other practice management presentations at ECR 2024 described how patient feedback is an invaluable resource for making MRI more comfortable; how implementing imaging referral guidelines can make it easier to communicate with patients about low-value services; how communication is the key to better imaging of elderly patients; and how radiology departments can improve the imaging experience for children with autism and special needs.
In a video interview, Etta Pisano, MD, discussed the challenges, successful recruitment strategies, and importance of diversity in clinical trials.
Is there a practice management topic you’d like to see covered? Please feel free to drop me a line.
Erik L. Ridley
Editor in Chief
AuntMinnie.com
