Sudbury Is Still Waiting...
Bill Crumplin, with photo of his late wife Donna Williams, image courtesy Sudbury.comYou might recall mypost of a few years ago about Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, a medium-sized town that turned to its citizens to fund a PET/CT facility when the much-touted Health Service would not provide it. The wait-time was not just an inconvenience; the health of Sudbury citizens was adversely affected by the lack of local scanning capability.The wait goes on, it seems.My friend Stacey discoveredanother such tragedy related to imaging, or rather, lack thereof. As reported onSudbury.com:Donna Williams ’ dying wish was to raise money tow...
Source: Dalai's PACS Blog - April 4, 2019 Category: Radiology Source Type: blogs
How IBM Watson Overpromised and Underdelivered on AI Health Care
My friend Phil Shaffer, a fellow retired Nuclear Radiologist, is an avid poster on Aunt Minnie. His AM post today about AI in general and Watson in particular is worthy of a wider audience, and here you are. It is based on an Engineering article in the IEEE Spectrum:How IBM Watson Overpromised and Underdelivered on AI Health Care. This is a cautionary tale for all who have anything to do with AI...If IBM stumbled in this venue, if IBM could fall victim to hype and hubris... Well, we all knew that. Big hype, zero output.I wouldn ' t bother to post this non-news, if it were not for the other questions it brings up...
Source: Dalai's PACS Blog - April 3, 2019 Category: Radiology Source Type: blogs
Rad-PAss: The Robot Radiology Physician Assistant
For the past many years, radiologists have lived in fear of AI. There are those who complain as well about radiological mid-levels, nurse-practitioners, physician assistants, etc., thinking that they, too, will encroach upon our territory. As you know from my previous entries on the subject, I personally don ' t buy into those fears. Artificial Intelligence and human helpers represent nothing more than assistants for us, ways to do our jobs better and faster. They will not replace us, I promise you.As with most things in this business, technology marches on, and we see progress of a sort we could not even imagine a few yea...
Source: Dalai's PACS Blog - April 1, 2019 Category: Radiology Source Type: blogs
A Capitalist Went To Cuba...
Mrs. Dalai and I continue to travel to weird and wonderful places, and with me being officially retired, we hope to do so even more often. Cuba has always intrigued me, and I had even strongly considered joining a religious mission trip here some years ago. Yes, there is a very small, but very vibrant Jewish community in Cuba. We never did makethat trip, but we are now circumnavigating the island nation on a very nice cruise ship. While other ships have made the run, this is the first visit for our particular liner, and I feel a bit like a pioneer. Our first stop was in Santiago, very near Guantanamo, then to Cienfuegos wi...
Source: Dalai's PACS Blog - March 27, 2019 Category: Radiology Source Type: blogs
" Ramblings On Radiology And The Job Market "
Image courtesy HoustonMethodist.comDalai ' s note: Daniel Corbett is a Radiology business consultant who has posted incredibly useful information on Aunt Minnie as long as I ' ve been there. This opinion piece should be mandatory reading for all in the field.There has been much posted lately about the robust job market for radiologists. There has been wide ranging discussion about the quality of the jobs available with regards to corporate practices and teleradiology. The potential to join a group without knowing about " discussions " the group may be having with other entities is very real. As for privat...
Source: Dalai's PACS Blog - March 27, 2019 Category: Radiology Source Type: blogs
Senior Discounts
On January 1, 2019, I officially retired from the position I held for 28.5 years. Let the new era begin!In the interest of transparency, I have to tell you that was not entirely my choice; my departure was necessitated by " business reasons " , and, I am assured,not by any problem with my work. The metamorphosis from practicing physician to private citizen (and eventually, I suppose, topatient) is a process I had started a few years ago, when I cut back to working 26, and then 22 weeks per year, dumping call in the process. There were those who couldn ' t understand my action at that time, those who said I was not a " team...
Source: Dalai's PACS Blog - January 13, 2019 Category: Radiology Source Type: blogs
The Abscopal Effect
In the waning years of my career as a Nuclear Radiologist, I have become somewhat more jaded than I was as a younger doc. When you see cancer and other diseases fifty times a day, sometimes getting better, sometimes getting worse, that ' s bound to happen. Of course, I ' m far prefer reporting improvement, but relapses are also part of this job. The oncologists wander into the reading room every few minutes, or so it seems, anyway, to look at their patients ' scans (the gantry is generally still warm). If the news is bad, I will tell them in all honesty that I admire the strength it will take to deliver the bad news. On th...
Source: Dalai's PACS Blog - August 19, 2018 Category: Radiology Source Type: blogs
A Cold-Call Email From A Headhunter
I HATE SPAM. HATE it. With a passion. Almost as much as I hate robocalling telemarketers. I REALLY hate them. It would be nice if the Feds would send just one little bitty cruise missile into a Bangalore call center. I do believe that would solve the problem.But back to email SPAM.In among the various advertisements for incredible products (that don ' t exist), emails from Russian women (written by burly gentlemen who probably aren ' t in Russia), and offers from Nigerian princes (who probablyare Nigerian but are unlikely to be royalty), I often find messages from radiological headhunters, middle-men trying to either get m...
Source: Dalai's PACS Blog - July 9, 2018 Category: Radiology Source Type: blogs
" Despicable " GE Spins Off...Minion Healthcare?
I couldn ' t let an occasion as momentous asGeneral Electric spinning off its Healthcare division go without mention. As yet, the new division has no name other than GE Healthcare, which is what it used to be called before being spun. Off, that is. So I guess it ' s up to me to figure this out.We all know that Siemens performed a similar excision of its Healthcare Division back in March of this year, although this was announced back in November, 2017. You may know that Siemens had a sponsoringrelationship with Disney......until October of 2017, and I have to wonder if that had something to do with the unfortunate moniker "...
Source: Dalai's PACS Blog - July 7, 2018 Category: Radiology Source Type: blogs
The Wedding Speech
Dalai ' s Note: My daughter " Dolly " got married last week to an incredible guy whom we ' ll call " Lama " . Forgive the awkwardness of these false names in the following piece, but I did want to share my " Father of the Bride " speech with everyone. If you were wondering, this might have something to do with my lack of posting lately...If I could have your attention for just a few moments …I want to welcome all you, our good friends, old and new, and family, old and new, to this celebration for Dolly and Lama! We are thrilled to have you here on this wonderful occasion! I can ’t begin to tell you what it means to all...
Source: Dalai's PACS Blog - June 3, 2018 Category: Radiology Source Type: blogs
Driving " Miss Taxi "
As my second trip to Ghana winds down, I think of what I ' ve seen and accomplished. The people I ' ve met, the places I ' ve visited. The mark I ' ve left on this wonderful nation, and that it ' s left on me. One returns from a trip like this a better person, and that growth is enhanced by those who touch your life during the brief sojourn away from the known.I have literally met royalty this trip (long story, won ' t talk about it for privacy reasons.) I ' ve worked and played with someveryfine physicians, IT people (yes they are!), technologists, and and so forth. Neither an abundance nor a lack of resources can dictate...
Source: Dalai's PACS Blog - April 1, 2018 Category: Radiology Source Type: blogs
April's Fool
Good morning. Happy Easter, and Happy Passover, and Happy Whatever to those to whom the first two don ' t apply.Having been hard at work in Ghana the past two weeks, and trying to get back onto Eastern Time this weekend, for the first time in the history of DoctorDalai.com, there will not be an April Fool ' s Day post.Sorry to disappoint. I know you wait for this with great anticipation every year, but I ' m going to have to let you down. In the meantime, tryGoogle ' s version.Rest assured,next year ' s edition will be YUUUUGGGEEE!Dalai (Source: Dalai's PACS Blog)
Source: Dalai's PACS Blog - April 1, 2018 Category: Radiology Source Type: blogs
I Bless The Rains Down In Africa...Again
Some of you might have noticed that I haven ' t posted for a while. Did you call? Did you write? Did you check to see if i was still alive?Sorry...just the Jewish mother in me coming out. I ' m sure you all knew that the hiatus was justified, and you simply decided that my next missive would be well worth the wait. And I certainly hope to rise to your expectations.Many things have indeed been happening. Doctor Dolly is getting married in a few months, and you can imagine theturmoiljoy that has brought to the Dalai household. In the midst of plans for that amazing(ly expensive) event (JUST KIDDING, DOLLY!!) I received a pro...
Source: Dalai's PACS Blog - March 21, 2018 Category: Radiology Source Type: blogs
I Bless The Rains Down In Africa...Again
Some of you might have noticed that I haven ' t posted for a while. Did you call? Did you write? Did you check to see if i was still alive?Sorry...just the Jewish mother in me coming out. I ' m sure you all knew that the hiatus was justified, and you simply decided that my next missive would be well worth the wait. And I certainly hope to rise to your expectations.Many things have indeed been happening. Doctor Dolly is getting married in a few months, and you can imagine theturmoiljoy that has brought to the Dalai household. In the midst of plans for that amazing(ly expensive) event (JUST KIDDING, DOLLY!!) I received a pro...
Source: Dalai's PACS Blog - March 21, 2018 Category: Radiology Source Type: blogs
Life REALLY Imitates Art! More on Apple's EMR
To welcome myself back after a two-month absence, I ' ll brag a bit about my prescience. You ' ll recall my April Fool ' s Day mock-up of an Apple EMR:No, it wasn ' t real, for those who didn ' t realize this.But as with " The Simpsons " predicting an unlikely candidate (some say this isn ' t true, but go with it),Apple has finally come around. I alluded to this in arecent post, but it seems to be coming to pass quickly. Here ' s the latest, fromWired of all places...IN LATE JANUARY, Apple previewed an iOS feature that would allow consumers to access their electronic health records on their phones. Skeptics said the move w...
Source: Dalai's PACS Blog - February 25, 2018 Category: Radiology Source Type: blogs
