#SIR2019: Interventional radiologists united can lead patient-centric medicine

AUSTIN, TEXAS —Interventional radiologists must work as a group to make the practice of medicine more patient-centric and efficient, said Alan H. Matsumoto, M.D., FSIR, who delivered the Society of Interventional Radiology’s (SIR) 2019 Dr. Charles T. Dotter Lecture during SIR’s Annual Scientific Meeting in Austin, Texas.

“By providing timely and accurate diagnoses and performing minimally invasive procedures with less morbidity and faster recovery times for patients, interventional radiologists are well positioned to address the triple aim of healthcare: Better patient care, improving the health of populations and reducing per capita costs,” said Matsumoto, professor and chair of the department of radiology and medical imaging at the University of Virginia.

“We must have the will and fortitude to employ patience while we adapt and create mutually viable practice models for all members of our specialty. Interventional radiology can go so much further together, as one, in our efforts to grow the specialty and serve patients,” he said. “We must grow the relationship with patients to transition from being a doctor’s doctor to a patient’s doctor. Our patients can become some of our biggest advocates and allies, as long as we put them at the centre of our care models.”

The Dotter Lecture, supported by SIR Foundation, is an annual event named in honour of Charles T. Dotter, M.D., considered universally to be the founding father of interventional radiology. The annual lecture spotlights an outstanding interventional radiologist who has greatly contributed to the field and to SIR.

“Dr. Matsumoto’s commitment to patient-centered care is representative of what the future of interventional radiology will be,” said SIR President M. Victoria Marx, M.D., FSIR, an interventional radiologist at Keck Medicine of USC, and professor of clinical radiology and diagnostic radiology residency program director at Keck School of Medicine of USC, Los Angeles. “His call for unity and a shared purpose among IRs is a model for us to follow to make a change in the wider health care community.”

A University of Virginia faculty member since 1991, Matsumoto has helped train more than 200 diagnostic radiology residents and 100 vascular and interventional radiology fellows. His patient-centered and collaborative working style has led to the multidisciplinary care of many patients. Matsumoto is a past-president of SIR and former program chair of the Annual Scientific Meeting, he has been involved with the society for 31 years.

SIR 2019 runs from March 23–March 28 in Austin, Texas. More information about the Society of Interventional Radiology, finding an interventional radiologist in your area and minimally invasive, image-guided treatments can be found online at sirweb.org.

Source: Society of Interventional Radiology’s (SIR) 2019

Image credit: Society of Interventional Radiology’s (SIR) 2019