The danger of ignoring your instincts
Recently we had a patient admitted for a diagnosis that did not really fit his problem representation. The diagnosis was a convenient one, and easily treated. He initially responded to treatment and we discharged him. The diagnosis assumption nagged at me, but I did not push forward with a test that my mind wanted.
A week later he returned (the dreaded readmission), with the same symptoms. The admitting resident expanded the treatment for the same diagnosis.
The next morning on seeing the patient we were even more uncomfortable than on the first admission.
As often happens, this is a story of community acquired p...
Source: DB's Medical Rants - March 16, 2019 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: rcentor Tags: Medical Rants Source Type: blogs
Robocath R-One Robotic Angioplasty System Cleared in Europe
Robocath, based in Rouen, France, landed European regulatory approval to introduce its R-One robotic catheterization system. The R-One provides interventional cardiologists a way to precisely advance and manipulate catheter-based tools while remaining apart from patients and not exposed to dangerous X-rays.
The company believes that the system can improve certain procedures by providing a reliable and accurate use of instruments, without depending on the physician’s ability to provide the necessary strength to move and otherwise manipulate interventional tools.
The doctor sits at the control unit that’s behind ...
Source: Medgadget - March 4, 2019 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Editors Tags: Cardiology Radiology Vascular Surgery Source Type: blogs
AI in Healthcare: Interview with Chris Gough, GM Health and Life Sciences, Intel Corporation
Intel has developed a suite of AI technologies and has been collaborating with numerous medtech providers to create new healthcare solutions based on data-driven strategies. AI has come on in leaps and bounds, and is beginning to make an impact in various healthcare fields. Intel aims to be at the forefront of this AI revolution.
For instance, Intel has collaborated with Novartis to perform high content drug screening. The company uses Intel neural network technology to analyze thousands of images of cells to identify promising drug candidates. Previously, technicians analyzed these images manually, which was tedious and ...
Source: Medgadget - February 27, 2019 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Exclusive Informatics Medicine Public Health Source Type: blogs
Physicians who don ’t play the social media game may be left behind
The internet truly is a wondrous invention. It has evened the playing field with a wide swath of people now having access to information that used to be possessed in the hands of only the elite few not too long ago. However, as with most things, there can be downsides associated with any tool of […]Find jobs at Careers by KevinMD.com. Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now. Learn more. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - February 25, 2019 Category: General Medicine Authors: < span itemprop="author" > < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/xrayvsn" rel="tag" > Xrayvsn, MD < /a > < /span > Tags: Social media #Instagram Facebook Practice Management Source Type: blogs
How to become a radiologic technologist
Becoming a RT: from Choosing the Right School to Jump Starting Your CareerCheck out this book if you are thinking about becoming a rad tech or if you are rad tech, consider gifting this to a friend who is thinking about it!Description of the book:Have you ever thought about taking x-rays for a living but didn ’t know how to find information about how to proceed? If so, look no further. This book will explain how to select a fully accredited school of radiography while avoiding diploma mills that will not lead to full qualification. Get the facts about the current job market from an experienced radiogra pher and instructo...
Source: radRounds - February 16, 2019 Category: Radiology Authors: radRounds Radiology Network Source Type: blogs
Dig Deep to Source Pain In Person Living With Dementia
Photo credit Hermes Rivera
Dear Carol: My mom was recently diagnosed with vascular dementia and likely Alzheimer’s and has become increasingly confused when she tries to explain something to us so we don’t know what to think. Two years ago she had a root canal and seemed to weather the dental work well, but now she’s having pain that she says is coming from that location. The dentist who did the surgery took X-rays and sees no reason for the pain, and a second dentist agreed, but my mother continues to complain.
Read the full column on Inforum about ways to search out the source of pain in someone living with ...
Source: Minding Our Elders - February 3, 2019 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
New AI Technology Prioritizes Critical Chest Scans
A new artificial intelligence-based system out of the University of Warwick identifies time-sensitive chest scans that need to be prioritized, according to a study recently published inRadiology.Due to theradiologist shortagein the United Kingdom, hospitals are struggling with timely image readings. In emergency departments, scans can take from one hour to two business days to be processed. Chest scans account for a significant portion of a radiologist ’s workload, and according to EureakAlert, they make up 40 percentof all “diagnostic imaging worldwide.”A new AI technology aims to diminish exam backlog and prioriti...
Source: radRounds - February 1, 2019 Category: Radiology Authors: Julie Morse Source Type: blogs
How a radiology trick can surprisingly help your finances
One of the great teaching experiences in a young medical student or resident’s life is to be placed in front of his or her peers with an attending physician quizzing him or her on the spot about a particular patient. Often, when radiology imaging is involved, the said victim will be asked to interpret the […]Find jobs at Careers by KevinMD.com. Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now. Learn more. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - January 31, 2019 Category: General Medicine Authors: < span itemprop="author" > < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/xrayvsn" rel="tag" > Xrayvsn, MD < /a > < /span > Tags: Finance Practice Management Radiology Source Type: blogs
Retaliation against physicians reporting EHR flaws that cause use errors? Physicians subpoenaed in Rhode Island, allegedly after reporting EHR risks
It appears that way to my eye. First, on use errors (as opposed to user errors from carelessness):“Use error” is a term used very specifically by NIST to refer to user interface designs that will engender users to make errors of commission or omission. It is true that users do make errors, but many errors are due not to user error per se but due to designs that are flawed, e.g., poorly written messaging, misuse of color-coding conventions, omission of information, etc. From"NISTIR 7804: Technical Evaluation, Testing and Validation of the Usability of Electronic Health Records." It is available athttp://www.nist.g...
Source: Health Care Renewal - January 29, 2019 Category: Health Management Tags: David Levesque healthcare IT difficulties Lifespan retaliation rhode island hospital use error Source Type: blogs
MOC: When you play the game and they change the rules
I think one of the biggest frustrations I have as a doctor is being at the mercy of people who either have no medical training or are so detached from medicine that they have lost touch with those on the front line. The American Board of Radiology (ABR) essentially governs over radiologists who typically need […]Find jobs at Careers by KevinMD.com. Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now. Learn more. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - January 25, 2019 Category: General Medicine Authors: < span itemprop="author" > < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/xrayvsn" rel="tag" > Xrayvsn, MD < /a > < /span > Tags: Physician Practice Management Radiology Source Type: blogs
Improving Healthcare Efficiency with Incentives: Interview with Ben Kraus, CEO of Stellar Health
We present simple reminders to the provider at the point-of-care. For example: “There are two things that you really need to do for this patient today, based on their history.” It simplifies everything and prioritizes the actions that contribute to a healthier patient in the long-run. Trying to use an EHR to do this doesn’t work because EHRs were designed to serve as a complete clinical record of a patient, which is cavernous and lacks actionability. EHRs were not designed to align payor and providers incentives and create a prioritization framework to maximize health outcomes.
There are innovative companies out th...
Source: Medgadget - January 23, 2019 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Mohammad Saleh Tags: Exclusive Informatics Medicine Public Health Society Source Type: blogs
Asking Patients To Draw Their Illness Can Be Surprisingly Revealing
“an adult’s perceptions of how the heart has been affected by damage and blockages following a heart attack” – from Broadbent et al 2018 / 2004
By Christian Jarrett
Asking patients to draw the parts of their body affected by illness (and similar drawing challenges) can provide insights into how they think about their illness, the seriousness of their condition, and how well they are likely to cope, among other things. For instance, when people who had experienced a heart attack were asked on repeated occasions to draw their heart, an increase in the size of their drawings over time correlated with more anxi...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - January 17, 2019 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: BPS Research Digest Tags: Health Source Type: blogs
When AI Looks at X-Rays: Interview with Qure.ai CEO, Prashant Warier
If you follow the recent advances in medical technology and artificial intelligence, you may have heard people make bold claims that AI will replace tomorrow’s doctors. While there are still ways to go for technology to reach these sci-fi levels, many companies are actively designing AI systems that will accompany doctors or assist them with their daily tasks. One particularly challenging task has been to enable algorithms to examine medical images and make intelligent conclusions, create reports, or provide recommendations. Medgadget recently had the chance to ask Qure.ai’s CEO, Prashant Warier, about the strides his ...
Source: Medgadget - January 3, 2019 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Mohammad Saleh Tags: Exclusive Informatics Radiology Source Type: blogs
The generational differences of physicians
It is a known fact, but every generation feels that they had it worst and that other generations have it made.“When I went to school we had to walk uphill in the snow both ways!” says every grandparent I identify myself with the Generation X physicians, finishing medical school in 1997 and my radiology […]Find jobs at Careers by KevinMD.com. Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now. Learn more. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - January 2, 2019 Category: General Medicine Authors: < span itemprop="author" > < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/xrayvsn" rel="tag" > Xrayvsn, MD < /a > < /span > Tags: Physician Hospital-Based Medicine Primary Care Source Type: blogs
FFRangio Uses X-Rays to Measure Fractional Flow Reserve, Now Cleared in U.S.
Fractional flow reserve (FFR) is a measurement of the blood pressure before and after a narrowing of an artery. The larger the difference in the pressure across the stenosis, the more need there is to perform an interventional procedure to open up the artery. Normally, FFR is measured using a special intravascular catheter and this is now quite common. Nevertheless, traditional FFR involves its own procedural risks, takes a good deal of time to perform, and adds substantial costs.
CathWorks, a company with offices in Israel and California, has just won FDA clearance for its FFRangio system, a non-invasive alternative to tr...
Source: Medgadget - January 2, 2019 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Editors Tags: Cardiology Radiology Vascular Surgery Source Type: blogs
