Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Radiology for October 2014. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal articles, as well as the FDA approvals and regulatory changes that are the most likely to affect clinical practice.
Brain Imaging Changes Precede Clinical Manifestation of CVD
FRIDAY, Oct. 31, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Brain imaging changes in association with vascular risk factors precede clinical manifestation of cardiovascular or cerebrovascular disease, according to research published in the Oct. 1 issue of JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging.
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Brain Scans Yield Clues to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
THURSDAY, Oct. 30, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- There are clear differences in the brains of people with chronic fatigue syndrome and the brains of non-affected people, new research indicates. In the study, published online Oct. 29 in Radiology, patients with chronic fatigue syndrome had less overall white matter than the people who didn't have the condition.
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Fewer Malpractice Claims Paid in the United States
THURSDAY, Oct. 30, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- The number of medical malpractice payments in the United States has dropped sharply since 2002, according to a new study. And compensation payment amounts and liability insurance costs for many doctors declined in recent years. These findings were published online Oct. 30 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Would Alternative Payment Plan Cut Medical Bills?
THURSDAY, Oct. 30, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- New research supports replacing the traditional way of reimbursing doctors for care -- paying for each service provided -- with an alternative system that gives a set amount of money to health care organizations for patient care. The study was published in the Oct. 30 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Pre-Angiography High-Dose Statins Cut Contrast-Induced AKI
THURSDAY, Oct. 30, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- For patients undergoing coronary angiography, pretreatment with high-dose statins reduces the risk of contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CIAKI), according to a meta-analysis published in the Nov. 1 issue of The American Journal of Cardiology.
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AMA Code of Ethics Offers Guidance for Physicians
THURSDAY, Oct. 30, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- The American Medical Association (AMA) Code of Ethics and other articles provide guidance for physicians in relation to public health emergencies, according to a report from the AMA.
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Voters' Views on Affordable Care Act Split Along Party Lines
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 29, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Americans' opinions about the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are sharply divided along political lines, according to research published online Oct. 29 in the New England Journal of Medicine. The findings come from 27 public opinion polls conducted by 14 organizations.
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Less Competition Among Docs = Higher Medical Costs
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 29, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Competition between medical practices helps keep health care costs lower, according to a study published in the Oct. 22/29 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Mammography + Tomosynthesis Cost-Effective for Dense Breasts
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 29, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Combined biennial digital mammography and tomosynthesis screening is effective for women with dense breasts, according to a study published online Oct. 28 in Radiology.
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Noneconomic Damages Caps Cut Malpractice Payments by 15%
TUESDAY, Oct. 28, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Adoption of noneconomic damages caps reduces average malpractice payments by 15 percent, according to research published in the October issue of Health Affairs.
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Better Radiologist Performance on Own Recalled Screens
TUESDAY, Oct. 28, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Radiologists' screening performance improves with work-up of their own recalled screening mammograms, according to a study published in the November issue of Radiology.
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Cadavers Beat Computers As Med School Teaching Tool
MONDAY, Oct. 27, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Cadavers are better than a computer simulation of the human body for teaching anatomy to college students, according to research published in the September/October issue of Anatomical Sciences Education.
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New York, New Jersey Ease Ebola Quarantines
MONDAY, Oct. 27, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Faced with pressure from the White House and criticism from infectious disease experts, the governors of New York and New Jersey have eased their quarantine measures that required all medical workers returning from West Africa who had contact with Ebola patients to be forced into isolation.
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CDC Issues Revised Interim U.S. Guidance on Ebola
MONDAY, Oct. 27, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Today, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a revision of their Ebola guideline document -- Interim Guidance for Monitoring and Movement of Persons with Ebola Virus Disease Exposure.
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Neurophysiological Assessment Aids in Identifying Back Injury
FRIDAY, Oct. 24, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with lumbosacral disc herniation, neurophysiological tests together with neuroimaging and clinical examination allow for accurate preoperative assessment of injury, according to a study published in the Oct. 1 issue of Spine.
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New York City Health Officials Confirm First Ebola Case
FRIDAY, Oct. 24, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- New York City health officials said Thursday that a health care worker who recently returned from West Africa has tested positive for Ebola. The patient, identified as Craig Spencer, M.D., by city officials, had been working with Doctors Without Borders helping to treat Ebola patients in Guinea, one of three West Africa countries hit hard by the disease.
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Airborne Transmission of Ebola Highly Unlikely
FRIDAY, Oct. 24, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- People face no threat of airborne transmission of Ebola, according to a panel of Ebola experts gathered by the New England Journal of Medicine for an issue briefing Wednesday.
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Breast Cancer Markers Commonly Used for Routine Surveillance
FRIDAY, Oct. 24, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Breast cancer tumor markers are frequently used for routine surveillance in nonmetastatic breast cancer, and their use has been found to increase the number of diagnostic procedures performed as well as the total cost of care, according to a study published online Oct. 20 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
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Coworker Response 'Crucial' in Workplace Bullying Resolution
THURSDAY, Oct. 23, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Targets of workplace bullying can offer chaos, report, or quest narratives about their experiences, and coworker response plays a role in narrative development, according to a study published online Sept. 25 in Management Communication Quarterly.
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U.S. Ranks Last Among Wealthy Nations in Health Care Access
THURSDAY, Oct. 23, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. health care system ranks last compared to other industrialized nations when it comes to affordability and patient access, according to a new survey published in the Oct. 23 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Americans Report Distrust of Medical Profession
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 22, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Americans are less trusting of the medical profession than people in many other countries -- even though they often like their own doctor, according to a new report. The findings were published in the Oct. 23 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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U.S. Residents Back From Ebola-Affected Areas to Be Tracked
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 22, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Public health officials plan to actively monitor all U.S. residents returning home from one of the three Ebola-affected nations in West Africa, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Wednesday.
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APIC Provides Resources for Ebola Management
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 22, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Resources are available to increase protection against Ebola transmission, according to a report from the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).
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Few With Diabetes + Normal Heart Imaging Have CAD Events
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 22, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- High-risk asymptomatic patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and normal myocardial perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (MPS) have a low rate of first manifestations of coronary artery disease (CAD); however, patients with DM and abnormal MPS have a seven-fold higher rate of progression to overt or silent CAD despite therapy. These findings were published in the Oct. 1 issue of JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging.
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Hospital Conversion to For-Profit Status Ups Financial Margins
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 22, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Hospital conversion to for-profit status is associated with improvements in financial margins, but has no effect on process quality metrics or mortality rates, according to a study published in the Oct. 22/29 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Price Transparency Platform Linked to Lower Claims Payments
TUESDAY, Oct. 21, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Access to an employer-sponsored private price transparency platform is associated with reduced total claims payments, according to research published in the Oct. 22/29 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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CDC: 'Think Ebola' and 'Care Carefully'
TUESDAY, Oct. 21, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued updated guidelines for the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) by health care workers when caring for patients with Ebola, along with a reminder to health care workers to "Think Ebola" and to "Care Carefully."
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Law Requiring Release of Health Information Upheld
TUESDAY, Oct. 21, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- A state law that requires plaintiffs to release relevant protected health information before proceeding with allegations of medical liability has been upheld by a federal appeals court, according to the American Medical Association (AMA).
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Viewpoint: Getting United States Prepared for Ebola Outbreak
MONDAY, Oct. 20, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- A case of delayed Ebola diagnosis in Dallas and subsequent infection of health care workers has highlighted the lack of preparedness for a U.S. outbreak of the disease, according to a viewpoint piece published online Oct. 17 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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New MCAT Shifts Focus, Will Include Humanities
MONDAY, Oct. 20, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) has been revised, and the latest changes, including more humanities such as social sciences, are due to be implemented next April, according to a report from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).
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Volume of Patient-to-Doc E-mails Up From 2001 to 2010
FRIDAY, Oct. 17, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- From 2001 to 2010 the volume of patient-to-physician electronic messages increased, but the rate per-capita stabilized, according to research published in the October issue of Health Affairs.
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Obama Appoints Ron Klain As 'Ebola Czar'
FRIDAY, Oct. 17, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- President Barack Obama on Friday appointed Ron Klain, a former chief of staff to Vice President Joe Biden, as Ebola "czar" to oversee the federal government's response to the presence of virus in the United States.
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Specialized Care Centers May Be Needed to Contain Ebola
FRIDAY, Oct. 17, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Specialized medical centers may be necessary to adequately treat and contain the Ebola virus in the United States, according to an ideas and opinions piece published online Oct. 16 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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Many Docs Believe Mobile Health Apps Can Improve Patient Care
FRIDAY, Oct. 17, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- A Manhattan Research survey recently found that many physicians believe digital communication technologies, including mobile apps, can be used to improve patient outcomes, according to an article published Oct. 8 in Medical Economics.
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Ebola Workshop Scheduled for Nov. 3 in Washington, D.C.
THURSDAY, Oct. 16, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- At the request of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council will host a workshop to discuss research needed to prepare for handling the occurrence of Ebola virus disease in the United States, according to a press release from the National Academies.
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Limiting Malpractice Claims May Not Curb Costly Medical Tests
THURSDAY, Oct. 16, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Malpractice reform may not keep physicians from ordering unnecessary and expensive tests, according to a study published in the Oct. 16 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Repetitive Pitching Can Cause Teens Serious Shoulder Problems
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 15, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Young athletes who pitch more than 100 balls a week risk developing acromial apophysiolysis, according to research published online Oct. 14 in Radiology.
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Change in Doc, Public Attitudes Needed to Cut Overtreatment
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 15, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Reform of malpractice laws as well as inclusion of patients in medical decision making may help reduce overdiagnosis and overtreatment, according to an article published online Oct. 14 in The BMJ.
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CDC Takes Steps Toward Hospital Preparedness for Ebola
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 15, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has sent new resources to Dallas to support the highest standard of infection control, according to a news release issued by the organization Tuesday.
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Second Health Care Worker in Dallas Tests Positive for Ebola
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 15, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- A second health care worker who helped treat a patient who died of Ebola last week at a Dallas hospital has tested positive for the disease, health officials said Wednesday morning.
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Resident Proficiency in High-Value Care Is Hard to Test
TUESDAY, Oct. 14, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- The high-value care (HVC) subscore on the Internal Medicine In-Training Examination (IM-ITE) helps assess resident knowledge of HVC, but additional tools are needed to measure proficiency in practice, according to research published online Oct. 14 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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Considerations for CMS Coverage of Lung Cancer Screening
TUESDAY, Oct. 14, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- The benefits and potential harms of low-dose computed tomography (CT) screening for lung cancer are discussed in relation to the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services (CMS) evaluation of screening coverage. The two clinical reviews were published online Oct. 13 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
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Health Officials Reviewing Ebola Procedures at Dallas Hospital
MONDAY, Oct. 13, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Federal and local health officials said Monday that they were re-examining infection-control efforts at the Dallas hospital where a nurse contracted Ebola while caring for America's first diagnosed victim of the deadly disease.
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Texas Hospital Worker Tests Positive for Ebola
MONDAY, Oct. 13, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- A health care worker who helped treat the Liberian man who died of Ebola in a Dallas hospital last week has tested positive for the virus, public health officials reported Sunday.
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Americans Increasingly Anxious About Ebola
FRIDAY, Oct. 10, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- One-quarter of Americans now view Ebola as a major public health threat to the United States, with many saying they'd change their travel plans due to Ebola fears, a new Harris Poll/HealthDay survey reveals.
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Medicines Are Biggest Culprit in Fatal Allergic Reactions
FRIDAY, Oct. 10, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Over half of allergy-related deaths are caused by medications, while less than 7 percent are caused by food allergies, according to research published online Sept. 30 in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
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Specialty Drugs May Be Worth the Higher Costs
FRIDAY, Oct. 10, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Despite high costs, specialty drugs may provide value that balances the price difference compared with traditional drugs, according to research published in the October issue of Health Affairs.
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Five Major U.S. Airports to Screen Travelers for Ebola
THURSDAY, Oct. 9, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Five major U.S. airports will begin screening travelers entering the country from the three West African nations hit hardest by the ongoing Ebola epidemic, federal health officials announced Wednesday.
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Reducing Residency Work Hours Doesn't Affect Patient Outcomes
THURSDAY, Oct. 9, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Duty-hour reforms have not adversely affected hospital mortality or length-of-stay of patients cared for by new attending physicians who were partly or fully exposed to reduced duty hours during residency, according to research published in the October issue of Health Affairs.
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Dallas Ebola Patient Has Died, Hospital Officials Confirm
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 8, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Thomas Eric Duncan, the Liberian national who was the first person diagnosed with Ebola in the United States, died Wednesday morning at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas.
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CDC: U.S. Life Expectancy Hits Record High of Nearly 79 Years
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 8, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Average life expectancy in the United States reached an all-time high of 78.8 years in 2012, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Wednesday. For people 65 years old in 2012, life expectancy was an additional 19.3 years, up slightly from the year before. Women age 65 and older in 2012 can expect to live another 20.5 years, while men may get around an additional 18 years.
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AAFP Urges Docs to Check Accuracy of Open Payments Data
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 8, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) urges family doctors to check the accuracy of the first set of data published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Open Payments transparency program.
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MRI May Spot Early Signs of Mental Decline
TUESDAY, Oct. 7, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan that measures blood flow in the brain may help predict which older adults are at risk for future memory loss, according to a study published online Oct. 7 in Radiology.
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Obama Considers Tighter Ebola Screening for Travelers
TUESDAY, Oct. 7, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- President Barack Obama said Monday that his administration is preparing additional screening measures to prevent the Ebola epidemic in West Africa from gaining a foothold in the United States.
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Handheld U/S Beats Physical Exam for Heart Abnormalities
TUESDAY, Oct. 7, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with suspected cardiac abnormalities, handheld ultrasound (HHU) is more accurate for diagnosis than physical examination, according to a study published online Sept. 17 in JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging.
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CDC Team Assisting Ebola Response in Dallas
MONDAY, Oct. 6, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Experts from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have arrived in Texas and are working closely with Texas state and local health departments to investigate the first Ebola case in the United States, according to a news release issued by the agency.
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States Encouraged to Use Physician Assistant Workforce
MONDAY, Oct. 6, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Physician assistants (PAs) have an important role in the provision of health care and their role should be encouraged by appropriate state legislation, according to a report from the National Governors Association.
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Impact of Physician Payments Sunshine Act Discussed
MONDAY, Oct. 6, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- The Physician Payments Sunshine Act is causing concern for manufacturers and providers, as well as physicians, according to a health policy brief published online Oct. 2 in Health Affairs.
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Physician Payments Found Not to Favor Procedures
FRIDAY, Oct. 3, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Physician Fee Schedule does not systematically provide higher valuation of physician work per unit time for procedure/test codes than for evaluation and management (E/M) codes, according to a study published online Sept. 18 in the Annals of Surgery.
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Lung Cancer Screening Found Cost-Effective for Medicare
FRIDAY, Oct. 3, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) is a low-cost and cost-effective strategy for screening Medicare beneficiaries for lung cancer, according to a study published in the August issue of American Health & Drug Benefits.
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Medical Errors Should Be Used to Improve Patient Care
THURSDAY, Oct. 2, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Medical errors occur and should be used to help improve medical processes, according to a report from the American Medical Association.
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Providers Received Billions From Drug/Device Companies
THURSDAY, Oct. 2, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- About 546,000 doctors and 1,360 teaching hospitals in the United States received billions of dollars from drug and medical device makers in the second half of 2013, according to data released Tuesday by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The financial benefits ranged from research grants to trips, and totaled nearly $3.5 billion from August through December last year, the Associated Press reported.
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Appropriate Use Criteria Established for Pediatric ECHO
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 1, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Appropriate use criteria have been developed for the initial use of transthoracic echocardiography in outpatient pediatric cardiology. The guidelines were published online Sept. 29 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
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Burnout on the Job Isn't Just About the Work
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 1, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Work, non-work, and individual factors explain a considerable part of psychological distress, depression, and emotional exhaustion, according to a study published online July 24 in Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology.
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CDC Confirms First Patient Diagnosed With Ebola in U.S.
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 1, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- The first confirmed case of Ebola has surfaced in the United States, involving a man who recently flew here from Liberia, federal health officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced late Tuesday.
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