- ACR, SBI Statement on ACRIN Breast Ultrasound Trial Results and Role of Ultrasound in Breast Imaging Care
ACR News
Early detection of breast cancer through annual screening mammography beginning at age 40 is a proven life-saving public health tool. The American Cancer Society has recommended that women at increased risk for breast cancer should consider beginning screening with mammography at a younger age and/or with supplemental methods. - Adding Breast Ultrasound Screening to Mammography Reveals Cancers not Seen on Mammography Alone
ACR News Release
In women at increased risk for breast cancer, adding a screening ultrasound examination to routine mammography revealed 28 percent more cancers than mammography alone. However, the additional ultrasound exam substantially increased the rates of false positive findings and unnecessary biopsies, according to an American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) study published in the May 14, 2008 issue of the Journal of American Medical Association.
- ACR Manual on Contrast Media, Version 6 Now Available on the ACR Web site
ACR Daily News Scan
Developed by the ACR Committee on Drugs and Contrast Media, the ACR Manual on Contrast Media, Version 6, contains the most current information to guide radiologists to safely and effectively use contrast media in daily medical practice. - Senate Finance Committee Begins Discussions on Medicare as Physician Pay Cut Looms
ACR Daily News Scan
Senate Finance Committee members met on Wednesday, May 7, to begin discussions on how to avoid the scheduled 10.6 percent cut to physician reimbursement called for by the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula set to go into effect on July 1, 2008. - ACR Member Raymond Tu, M.D., Represents Washington, D.C., at Medical Board Conference
ACR Daily News Scan
ACR Member Dr. Raymond Tu attended the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) annual meeting, May 1-3, 2008, in San Antonio, Texas, as the voting representative for Washington, D.C., and co-authored a scientific poster presented there on medical malpractice in radiology. - Today on the ACR Blog: MedPAC to Augment Primary Care Physician Reimbursement
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) recently proposed an increased reimbursement to primary care physicians treating Medicare patients. The ACR is educating Congress that radiology cannot absorb another round of cuts to pay for increases to other specialties. Is there an alternate way of addressing this physician shortage while not pitting one physician specialty against another? - AMCLC 2008 Right Around the Corner
This year marks the ACR's 85th Annual Meeting and Chapter Leadership Conference, to be held in Washington, D.C., May 17-21 at the Hilton Washington. Find the latest information about the meeting online and be sure to check the ACR Web site during the meeting for important updates. - ACR BI-RADS® FAQs Recently Revised
The The American College of Radiology Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System Atlas (ACR BI-RADS) Frequently Asked Questions have been revised. In the current version, you will find new questions and answers dealing with reporting on multiple procedures and benchmarks for medical audits, along with other new information. Please visit the following Web site to read the updated FAQs. - ACR Members: We Want to Hear From You!
In an effort to provide outstanding service and assess the priority and effectiveness of current ACR activities, the ACR Task Force on Member Engagement, under the leadership of Kimberly Applegate, M.D., FACR, would like you to complete the attached survey. To learn more, please click here! - Whistleblower Case Against Radiologist Settles for $7 Million
ACR Daily News Scan
A diagnostic radiologist recently agreed to pay $7 million to settle federal allegations that he and his MRI imaging centers violated federal fraud and abuse laws. The case originated as a qui tam or whistleblower lawsuit by a radiologist who had worked for the group.
Click to select next tab
- MRI Shows Frequent Temporomandibular Joint Involvement in Juvenile Arthritis
Reuters Health
Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) arthritis on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), but not ultrasound, is often found at the onset of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), according to Pennsylvania-based researchers. - Ultrasound Plus Mammography Detects More Cancers in High-Risk Women
Reuters Health
Adding screening ultrasonography to conventional breast mammography increases the diagnostic yield by about 50% among women at high risk for breast cancer, according to study findings published in the Journal of the American Medical Association for May 14. However, the combined strategy also substantially increases the number of false positives.
- Colonoscopic Competence Requires Significant Experience
Reuters Health
Technical competence in performing screening and diagnostic colonoscopies is achieved only after participating in at least 150 cases, according to a report in the April issue of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. - Five Percent of Breast Tumors May Double in Month
Reuters Health
Five percent of breast cancer tumors appear to double in size in just over a month, Norwegian researchers said on Thursday in a study underscoring the potential benefits of more frequent screening. - European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology Annual Congress: Sept. 14-18
More than 4,500 cancer specialists from all over the world will attend a challenging, state-of-the-art program in Göteborg, Sweden this September. Over 500 presentations will highlight advances in radiotherapy and multidisciplinary approaches to the treatment of cancer. - Incidental Findings on Cardiac Multidetector Row CT Common for Healthy Adults
Reuters Health
Incidental findings are common among healthy older adults who undergo cardiac multidetector row computed tomography (MDCT), according to a report in the April 14th issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. - RUC Submits Medicare Medical Home Demonstration Project Recommendations
The RUC recently submitted work relative value and direct practice expense input recommendations to CMS on the Medicare Medical Home Demonstration project, set to begin on January 1, 2009. - Osteoporosis, Osteopenia Linked With Coronary Artery Disease
Reuters Health
Among patients who undergo coronary angiography because of chest pain, the prevalence of obstructive coronary artery disease is greater among those with osteoporosis or osteopenia compared to those with normal bone mineral density (BMD). - Are Brain Scans the Ultimate in Truth Detection?
ACR Daily News Scan
If Joel Huizenga’s vision proves 20/20, millions of Americans will soon be spending $5,000 to $10,000 each on fMRI scans that he says will verify their honesty, thus allowing them to advance their careers, prevent the ordeal of public trial, and maintain their standing in their communities. - Dose Reduction Strategy for Neuroradiology CT Exams Successful
Reuters Health
At the University of California, San Francisco, systematic use of tube current dose modulation for computed tomography (CT) examinations most often performed in the neuroradiology section has led to significant reductions in radiation doses without sacrificing image quality. - More Than 900 Imaging Providers Pledge to “Image Gently”
ACR Daily News Scan
Since the Jan. 22 launch of the “Image Gently” campaign (www.imagegently.org), more than 900 imaging providers, representing more than 600 facilities nationwide, have taken the Image Gently pledge to reduce the radiation dose estimate used in the performance of CT scans on children. - Radiologist’s Forthcoming Book Believed First to Popularize Imaging Profession
ACR Daily News Scan
Looking within the human body is the cause celebré of radiology. Similarly, Looking Within is the title of a soon-to-be-published book that its radiologist-author hopes will help put a human face on the imaging sciences. Penned by Cullen Ruff, M.D., Looking Within: Human Imaging, Human Insights aims to demystify, popularize, and celebrate radiology — by way of its triumphant technologies and major impact on patient care. - What Potential Does Terahertz Technology Have in Medical Imaging?
ACR Daily News Scan
Every few weeks for the last decade or so, newspapers and trade publications have announced impending “revolution” in terahertz technology, promising huge - perhaps paradigm-shifting - breakthroughs in medicine, security, manufacturing, and communication. These stories predicted “t-rays” would soon be blazing new trails in the detection and treatment of cancers, severe burns, and more.
Click to select next tab
- Thirty Senators to Finance Committee: No More Imaging Cuts
ACR News Release
Thirty Senators penned a letter November 1 to Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and Ranking Member Charles Grassley (R-IA) stating their opposition to further cuts to medical imaging as the Committee continues to craft its version of Medicare legislation this fall.
- Imaging Under Attack - Resources to Counter DRA Imaging Cuts
Please visit this special Web section for the latest news regarding government efforts to reduce medical imaging reimbursement and ACR efforts to counter these cuts which would restrict patient access to critical medical imaging care.
- ACR Backs Senate Bill to Protect Seniors' Access to Imaging Care
ACR Daily News Scan
The American College of Radiology (ACR) strongly urges all members of the U.S. Senate to vote for passage of the Access to Medicare Imaging Act of 2007 (S. 1338), the bipartisan legislation calling for a two-year moratorium on drastic medical imaging reimbursement cuts included in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005...
Click to select next tab