Volume 9 - Issue 1, 2009

Dear readers, In this issue of IMAGING Management, we cover the top three papers presented at 2008’s Management in Radiology (MIR) congress. Included is a focus on the explosion in the demand for ultrasound (US) exams, and the impact it is having on managers in imaging departments. Also, the selection includes a paper on the techniques used by private imaging practices in running their facilities: thei...

Management In Radiology (MIR) IHE Connectathon Update The IHE-Europe Executive Board is pleased to announce that the Ninth Annual European Connectathon will be held in Vienna, Austria from April 20 - 24, 2009. Hosting the Connectathon will support the Austrian IHE initiative in further developing their presence in the healthcare interoperability community, according to IHE cochairs Peter Kuenecke and K...

The EU Member States still have their own systems of storing healthcare information; yet these systems often cannot communicate or exchange information between each other. According to the epSOS team, this situation should come to an end. The project is set to run for three years and in the end, anyone who falls ill in one country should have access to his or her health information in other European countr...

Contact ECRI Institute Europe, Weltech Centre Ridgeway, Welwyn Garden City, Herts AL7 2AA, United Kingdom [email protected] - www.ecri.org.uk ECRI Institute, a non-profit organisation, dedicates itself to bringing the discipline of applied scientific research in healthcare to uncover the best approaches to improving patient care. As pioneers in this science for nearly 40 years, ECRI Institute...

Author Prof. Michel Claudon President Elect World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (WFUMB) Also, Department of Radiology Children’s Hospital Nancy University Nancy, France [email protected] Ultrasound (US) has a long history within medicine since 1798, when Spallanzani suggested that bats move using their ears. With a mean annual growth rate of 8% in rece...

Author Dr. Peter S. Hanson Medical X-Ray Consultants Eau Claire Wisconsin, US [email protected] Certain trends are notable in private practice radiology in the United States (US), including a shift toward larger practice sizes, greater use of teleradiology, and a move toward commoditisation. In this article, many important elements of private practice radiology in the US will be reviewed...

Author Dr. Robert Lavayssière CEO SAS Imagerie Paris-Nord (IPN) Sarcelles, France [email protected] Around 2,000 radiologists in France work in public hospitals, while there are about 5,000 radiologists in private practice. This national bias towards a private radiology system has given us much opportunity to discern the advantages of a competitive structure for the delivery of imaging...

Author Dr. Silvia Ondategui-Parra Associate Hospital Director Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals and Life Sciences PricewaterhouseCoopers Barcelona, Spain Also, Adjunct Assistant Professor Boston University School of Medicine Boston, US [email protected] Public private partnership (PPP) refers to an arrangement between the government and the private sector, with...

Authors Andrew Hoole Edwin Claridge Informatics and Computing Special Interest Group (ICSIG) The Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM) York, United Kingdom [email protected] The selection and integration of appropriate information systems is one of the challenges facing department managers in their quest to offer a high level of clinical care, coupled...

Author Jason Launders Jason Launders Analyst ECRI Institute Pennsylvania, US [email protected] The primary reason for the development of cardiac CT was the expectation that CT could replace diagnostic cardiac catheterisation procedures, an expensive study that, due to the need for arterial catheterisation, has a relatively high complication rate. But where will this relatively new techno...

Author Prof. Simone Maurea Dipartimento di Scienze Biomorfologiche e Funzionali (DSBMF) Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II (UNINA) Istituto di Biostrutture e Bioimmagini (IBB) Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR) Naples, Italy [email protected] In adrenal tumour imaging, there are several imaging techniques that may be used to manage the patient, depending on thei...

Interviewee: Dr. Christiane Nyhsen Consultant Radiologist Department of Radiology Sunderland Royal Hospital Sunderland, UK [email protected] Tell Us About Your Roles in the Sunderland Royal Hospital (SRH), and the Radiology Trainees Forum (RTF). I was appointed as consultant radiologist at the SRH in October 2007. My main interests are cross-sectional imaging and ultrasound. I am als...

Imaging Agent to Enhance Scans of Blood Flow The FDA has approved Vasovist Injection (gadofosveset trisodium), the first contrast imaging agent for use in patients undergoing MRA, a minimally invasive test for examining blood vessels. The agent is said to provide a clearer image in patients suspected of having blockages or blood vessel problems therefore cutting out the need for the lengthy process of x-...

Author: Prof. Jeffrey Braithwaite Director Centre for Clinical Governance Research Also, Professor School of Public Health and Community Medicine Faculty of Medicine University of New South Wales New South Wales, Australia To understand the Australian healthcare system requires a consideration of core problems facing every healthcare system. Australia is a large, federated cou...

Promoting a Higher Standard of Practice Authors: Prof. Mark Khangure President The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR) Sydney, Australia Don Swinbourne CEO The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR) Sydney, Australia [email protected] The Australian and New Zealand Association of Radiologists was formed in...

Interviewee: Dr. Peter Scally Director of Medical Imaging Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital Brisbane, Australia [email protected] What Led You to a Career in Medical Imaging? I chose medicine because it is ethical, innovative and one can help a lot of people. I started as a resident in neurosurgery in Paris in 1979, but on returning to Australia, found there were no training positions...