Dear AuntMinnie Member,
General practitioners (GPs) in Australia are ordering more medical imaging exams than they did a decade ago, according to a new report on the subject issued today.
The finding doesn't necessarily mean there is inappropriate utilization going on Down Under. For the most part, GPs are requesting exams that are well-suited for the clinical problem being addressing (although, as always, there is room for improvement).
The report also documents a shift in imaging requests, away from more basic radiography exams and toward more advanced modalities such as ultrasound, CT, and MRI. In particular, MRI orders showed sharp growth, more than tripling, although the modality started from a much smaller number of exams in the initial study period.
Learn more about the report by clicking here.
Rads and retirement
In other news, how will the job market for radiologists sort out in the coming years? A new study indicates that how hard the current crop of radiologists work and when they retire will have a big impact on job availability.
The new study, by researchers from Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, surveyed currently employed radiologists regarding their workload and retirement preferences, and then projected the answers to see how they might affect job availability in the future.
Of course, it's impossible to predict what people will really do in the future, but in general the answers paint a picture of radiologists who would like to work less than they currently are and retire sooner than they have planned. Read more by clicking here.
MRI and brain volume loss
Finally, visit our MRI Digital Community for a new article on how MRI has shown a loss of brain volume in some patients with schizophrenia who are taking antipsychotic drugs.
Finnish researchers also discovered that the rate of brain volume loss correlated with the level of medication. On the other hand, the group did not find any adverse cognitive issues related to the loss.
Read more by clicking here, or visit our MRI Digital Community at mri.auntminnie.com.
