I recently converted an extra bedroom in my house to a home office where I can tinker on evenings, weekends, or on those days when I'm hard pressed to get out of my Homer Simpson slippers. My dogs, I've discovered, have a particular disdain for the delivery drivers as they bark like crazy when the UPS or FedEx truck parks pull up outside. This is usually a loud indication that I've got a package. Just the other day ...

At a time when physician and nursing shortages seem to be competing for headline space with bad economic news, it is reassuring to know that interest in therapeutic radiology and oncology is thriving in one corner of the health care industry.

We all know the market that Hallmark has on this special day. So why don't we take advantage of this month in the medical area and market our breast centers, ...

It wasn't too long ago that I remember hearing how beneficial red wine--in moderation!--was for my health. Its antioxidants were found to reduce risk of cardiovascular disease, and even inhibit types of tumor growth. Additional benefits were found in its ability to aid in the formation of nerve cells, a boost for neurological conditions. A smooth Pinot Noir, a poignant Shiraz, a cozy Cab, bring 'em on.

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A recent survey has confirmed what we here at Enterprise Imaging realized years ago as we searched for fresh developments in the X-ray modality-X-ray usage is being supplanted by more advanced modalities.

This news comes from the staffing firm of Med Travelers, which found that demands ultrasound/vascular and interventional technologists has increased steadily over the past three years. The need for ...

While proven better for women under 50 and those with very dense breasts, digital mammography appears to come with an unforeseen price tag: more repeat exams-at least initially. That's the word from an article you may have caught in the April 10^th New York Times called "In Shift to Digital, More Repeat Mammograms". ...

When "Dirty Dancing" star Patrick Swayze's pancreatic cancer diagnosis made international news last month, he unofficially became the poster boy for this killer disease that unfortunately for its victims remains under researched. Pancreatic cancer needs poster boys and girls since most advocates don't live long enough to tell their stories.

Swayze's media hyped diagnosis is impacting pancreatic cancer ...

The major challenge of breast MRI lies in the fact that it has been accepted as the gold standard in breast ...

What I really want to tell all who are listening-administrators, managers, radiologists-your technologists want ...

Anyone who has lived in the middle part of the country probably has a healthy disdain for the word "forecast" since the local news weathercasts in this part of the world are often flummoxed by what'll happen later today, to say nothing of three days from now. Similarly, "prediction" conjures up recollections of mid-season prognostications--seemingly universally wrong--about which teams will ascend to the World Series ...

Last week, I attended the Digital Healthcare Information & Management Systems (DHIMS) conference at the beautiful Westin La Cantera Resort in San Antonio, Texas. I left Philadelphia on a cold, blustery Monday morning in March and arrived at 2:15 p.m. local time in a gloriously sunshiny afternoon with temperatures in the ...

Last week, news was released regarding bullying-specifically in the health care arena. The Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing reviewed the psychological and social issues related to bullying in the workplace, and strategies for creating a respectful work environment.

The Joint Commission determined that over half of nurses ...

In the early '90s Congress mandated mammography for payment by Medicare, and the requirement of coverage gradually came to apply to most health insurers. Few will remember today, but crucial testimony in this process came from Richard Bird, MD, a Carolina breast radiologist who had developed the workflow system to allow the delivery of a mammogram at a price of $35. Congress would never have mandated coverage, had ...

And you thought that oil, honey bees and dollars in your 401K were the only things likely to be in perniciously short supply in 15 years.

Add doctors and nurses to the list. A recent health care report indicates that the Big Three presidential candidates don't back up their lofty "accessible and affordable health care for all" proposals with the funding and physician/nursing infrastructure needed to support ...

In the last blog we discussed cancers that are missed by breast imaging, and the emotional impact on the patient of a cancer. We tend to look at the impact on the physician as "merely" the risk of malpractice, but the facts go much deeper. Physicians, and particularly breast physicians, are emotionally affected by a missed cancer as well. Even though a "miss" may be explainable, every breast physician has a personal ...

You may have read in ADVANCE's online Daily News section (March 4-CRA Exam Results Announced) that 38 out of 84 medical imaging administrators passed the November Certified Radiology Administrator exam (www.crainfo.org), ...

Nurse Bonnie Britton grew up in a rural area of North Carolina, not thinking that she'd return to her hometown years later to help her fellow low-income community members link to a telehealth program for improving their lives. Called The Patient Provider Community Telehealth Network, the computer-based program is working for the residents of Ahoskie, N.C.

Not only have ...

You all have heard this saying.well I'm in Las Vegas and I'm talking! Oh yes, it's the city with all the glitz and shows-from Blue Man to Bette. But the biggest hit this week is the NCBC, the 18^th Annual National Interdisciplinary Breast Conference of National Consortium of Breast Centers Inc.

This year's conference brought together 800 attendees of medical professionals involved with breast health ...

Health care architects have a problem that is shared with radiology administrators and others directly involved in building new space for radiology. Design and construction projects are often marked with busted-budget angst, the bricks-and-mortar version of having eyes larger than your stomach. All of the focus on the cost-per-square foot (and squeezing $10,000 out of the project here and $50,000 from over there) ...

If every radiologist who had missed a mammographically-detected cancer were to quit reading mammograms tomorrow, there would be no more mammography. The truth is that the breast is a very complex organ to image, and there are a number of benign conditions that mimic the appearance of cancers. Unfortunately, the public's perception is that a "normal" mammogram means that there is no cancer, and this misconception, ...

The other day, I received an e-mail from a relatively large health care vendor in the medical imaging world announcing that the company was implementing a "rightsizing initiative." I have heard a lot of public relations-speak in my 13 years as a journalist and editor but I've never heard of "rightsizing."

Your reception area--your waiting room--is the entry area for your patients. They've come to have their scheduled mammogram. This first encounter, the surroundings and the greeting from behind the desk, sets the entire mood at your imaging center.

I swear, I don't have a crystal ball. Last week, when I wrote about two events that will change MRI standard of care, I didn't expect the Sentinel Event Alert to come out the very same day that the ...