Packed plenary sessions at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) annual meeting attest to the thought-provoking and engaging array of speakers.

Sunday 29 November: 08:30-10.15, Arie Crown Theater

Get to the Arie Crown Theater early to hear RSNA President, Ronald Arenson, give the President’s Address: Going Boldly into Radiology's Technological Future: Why Our Profession Must Embrace Innovation.

Arenson will argue that radiologists need to seize their opportunity as technological innovation meets growing demand for imaging. Arenson promises to answer the essential questions: With radiologists now busy as ever and working on the cusp of one of the most exciting eras ever in the development of information technology, we must ask ourselves: Are we harnessing our capacity for innovation and technology development in the right ways? As health systems look to us increasingly for answers, what will our profession deliver to them?

With a nod to Star Trek, Arenson will note that as resources we once thought of as "futuristic" will appear, including expanded artificial intelligence, sophisticated extraction of information (data mining) from the medical record and dramatic improvements in image quality and usage, how can radiologists manage technological change effectively.

In the Sunday plenary session, Darrell G. Kirch, MD, President and CEO of the Association of American Medical Colleges will deliver the Special Lecture: Radiology, Medicine, and Healthcare: Will Inaction or Innovation Determine Our Future?

Kirch will highlight the political and economic realities facing U.S. health care, including shifts away from fee-for-service toward population-based payments in health care financing, reductions in clinical revenue, stagnant research funding, and a demand for new approaches in medical education. Are physicians ready to provide sufficient leadership to manage these changing practices?

Kirch says that many physicians today are embedded in a traditional culture of medicine-one that is hierarchical, autonomous, competitive, individualistic, and expert-centric. Evidence is beginning to demonstrate that this culture, which conflicts directly with the health care desires of patients in the 21st century, can have negative outcomes for patient care. He will warn that unless a major cultural shift can occur, this traditional approach will have serious repercussions for the future of health care. Successful transformation will require both innovation and a new kind of leader. This plenary session will highlight the critical success factors for health care leaders in this transformative period. Clinical care in the 21st century requires new leaders who will foster a culture that is collaborative, team-based, service-based, mutually accountable, and patient-centered. Tomorrow's physicians will need to adapt to-and even create-disruptive innovations in operating models, clinical care, education, and technology.

Monday 30 November: 1.30-2.45, Arie Crown Theater


Jeffrey R. Immelt, CEO, General Electric delivers the New Horizons Lecture on Redefining Innovation.
Immelt will consider how innovation will  change as we look towards the future. He will argue that we must be thoughtful about our investments and move away from creating technology just because we can. This is why it is critical for companies to work together with customers, governments, communities and NGOs, to innovate around what is needed to improve the health of millions around the world.

Tuesday 1 December: 1:30-2:45 PM


James H. Thrall, MD, Chairman Emeritus, Department of Radiology, Massachussetts General Hospital will deliver the Annual Oration in Diagnostic Radiology: Trends and Developments Shaping the Future of Radiology.
   
Thrall will outline three categories of innovation that will shape future directions in radiology: continued development of imaging technologies, parallel developments in infrastructure, most importantly in computer analytics, and information and communications systems and the development and application of the imaging correlates of precision medicine.

He will argue that in the era of "big data," no discipline in medicine will have opportunities that rival or surpass those we will have in radiology. Radiologists will use computer data mining and analysis techniques to turn "dumb" data into knowledge that can be delivered in real time at the point of care-just-in-time - for both radiologists and referring physicians. There will be unremitting competition for "ownership" of imaging methods between specialties in clinical practice and in research.

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radiology, RSNA 2015, #RSNA15, future, innovation Summaries of the plenary lectures at RSNA on the future of radiology, role of radiologists, opportunities and threats