Dear AuntMinnie Member,
It's bigger than the RSNA show (and has better weather to boot). It's the Arab Health 2014 conference, and we're featuring coverage of the show this week in our Middle East Digital Community.
This year's meeting opened on Monday in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and AuntMinnieEurope.com Editor-in-Chief Philip Ward and AuntMinnie.com International Editor Eric Barnes are on the scene filing daily articles from the show's Total Radiology sessions, which feature four days of presentations specifically dedicated to medical imaging.
For example, read about a talk by Dr. Rola Shaheen on the use of multimodality imaging in the management of breast cancer patients. Dr. Shaheen, acting chair of radiology and chief of women's imaging at Mafraq Hospital in Abu Dhabi, UAE, believes that radiologists should lead the way in managing the care of these individuals.
Read more coverage of the meeting in the coming days by visiting our Middle East Digital Community at me.auntminnie.com.
USPSTF tweaks AAA screening guidelines
In other news, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) yesterday issued revised guidelines for ultrasound screening for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA).
The proposed guidelines aren't a radical change from what the group issued in 2005, which advised against AAA screening for any women. The new guidance for women walks that stance back a bit by saying that the evidence is inconclusive on whether screening is a net benefit for women who have smoked, based on an analysis of the benefits and harms. The group's guidance for men is largely unchanged.
Learn more about the new guidelines by clicking here, or visit our Ultrasound Digital Community at ultrasound.auntminnie.com.
While you're there, also check out this article on whether point-of-care ultrasound has become the new stethoscope for physicians.
Rads on sales ride-alongs
Finally, should radiologists accompany their group's sales representatives on sales calls to referring physicians? It might make purists feel squeamish, but it can be surprisingly effective in drumming up business, according to a new article in our Imaging Leaders Digital Community.
Researchers from the University of Nebraska sent a radiologist with a sales representative on visits to referring clinicians, and compared the practice's business to periods when the sales rep went out alone. They found a pronounced increase in patient referrals -- an increase that tapered off when the radiologist stopped visiting.
What accounted for the boost? Find out by clicking here, or visit the community at leaders.auntminnie.com.
