Ultrasound Awareness Month

From the ARDMS:

Ultrasound Awareness Month

October is Medical Ultrasound Awareness Month

ARDMS is celebrating Medical Ultrasound Awareness Month in October.  This month and throughout the year, ARDMS encourages Registrants and ultrasound professionals to raise medical ultrasound awareness.

With ultrasound’s increasing role in medicine, one of the main goals of Medical Ultrasound Awareness Month is to provide the public with a better understanding of ultrasound and its many uses in health care. 

Here are some ways to educate the public, raise medical ultrasound awareness, and celebrate your profession during Medical Ultrasound Awareness Month: 

1. Tell your patients you are certified: The mission of ARDMS is “quality care and patient safety through the certification and continuing competency of ultrasound professionals.”  Share with patients that you are certified by ARDMS, that you had to pass a series of rigorous examinations to earn the certification, and that as a result, your patients are receiving the highest level of care. To assist you in sharing information with your patients, use the ARDMS brochure entitled, “Understanding Sonography...and the Importance of a Certified Sonographer.”  If you are interested in receiving this brochure, send an e-mail to communications@ardms.org and we will add your name to distribution efforts.
    
2. Educate patients about the different terms of Sonography:
   • Sonography - using the reflections of high-frequency sound waves (ultrasound) to construct an image (a sonogram) of a body organ or to observe fetal growth or study bodily organs.
   • Ultrasound – the use of ultrasonic waves for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes, specifically to image an internal body structure, monitor a developing fetus, or generate localized deep heat to the tissues.
   • Transducer – a device that receives a signal in the form of one type of energy and converts it to a signal in another form.
   • Sound wave – a wave that transmits sound
   • Sonographer – a specialist in the use of Sonography; a person who performs the sonographic exam (ultrasound).
      
3. Celebrate your accomplishments: A recent study found that 97% of ARDMS Registrants feel proud to have earned an ARDMS credential.  Share your accomplishments with colleagues and patients by displaying your credential certificate at your facility, sporting the ARDMS Registrant patches on your scrubs or lab coat, or wearing the ARDMS lapel pin. To place an order, click here.  
    
4. Encourage your colleagues to become credentialed: The reasons Sonographers become credentialed varies widely. According to an ARDMS survey, many active Registrants sought certification as a personal career goal, to distinguish themselves as competent in the field, to elevate the profession of Sonography, to expand career opportunities, or because it was a condition of employment.  Share your personal story about becoming certified with your colleagues and encourage them to join you in earning an ARDMS credential.
    
5. Be a Mentor: Offer to lend a supportive hand to students and those new to the profession of Sonography. Impart your clinical expertise through hands-on scanning, share the full scope of the day-to-day experience of a Sonographer, and encourage and celebrate efforts by others to become ARDMS certified. 
    

Check-out the Medical Ultrasound Awareness Month resources offered by other sponsoring organizations.

1. American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM)
2.  Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography (SDMS)

CT Dose reduction

Interested in CT Dose reduction?
Greag Mason presented at RPAL this week

CT Dose Reduction

Greg Mason, Sapheneia.

Greg came from Clinton, Mississippi to teach about CT dose reduction. His company, Sapheneia, provides software technology to improve CT images taken with low dose imaging techniques. Greg outlined the technology required for dose reduction, inherent problems, and techniques to overcome these problems. The technology behind image improvement is iterative reconstruction, a model based imaging reconstructive technique that utilizes post processing to enhance image quality in both CT and CR x-ray. You can contact Sapheneia at http://www.scpab.eu/

More at RPAL

Building Your Business Through A New Technology

                Sherry Gage, Director, John C. Lincoln Breast Health and Research Center.

Sherry extended an invitation to all members to visit her site and see this new technology. 

Highlights of her talk are:

Tomosynthesis – 3d imaging in mammography

·         Storage issues

·         Exam scheduling

o   5 – 10 minute exam times

o   Decreased recall rates

o   Decreased tech time

o   Decreased room time

·         Challenges of increased patient demand for the technology

·         Can be done for screening

·         No 3D order needed from Dr.

·         Can be done with implants

·         Dose rates ~1mSv

·         Marketing 3D technology opportunities and challenges

At RPAL

Leveraging your investment in PACS

Mary Beth Wilson, Western Regional Sales Director for the TIMS DICOM System developed and manufactured by Foresight Imaging.

The TIMS DICOM System is a system for converting any non-DICOM medical modality to DICOM.

Highlights of the talk include:

·         All modalities are becoming PACS modalities – this is being driven by the need to create electronic medical records

            Centers need to develop a strategy for enterprise-wide imaging

·         PACS users will be leaders in this conversion

·         Key features of DICOM conversion devices

·         Utilization of PACS for

o   speech pathology studies

o   teleradiology consultation

o   mobile DICOM

RPAL ACR Update

Today at RPAL, lots of good stuff. Much of  it will have to be digested while I look over the links and resources we have available. Here is a summary of one talk we had:

2011 ACR Update

Howard Fleishon, M.D., Valley Radiologists and Medical Director at John C. Lincoln North Mountain Radiology.

ACR organizational structure was given with Arizona’s connections delineated. Arizona has had good representation at the ACR Council Steering Committee including representation in the past from Drs. Crowe, Levi, Owen and Ovitt.

ACR Nationally

Economic Realities of Radiology

Reimbursement policies in Washington D.C. are going to affect imaging. Specific areas government is looking at include ACA implementation (Obama-care), Self-referrals, and USPSTF reform particularly in mammography.

Viewpoint of the MEdpAC

A policy advisory group the MedpAC provides advisory services to CMS. It is the model that formed the basis for the Independent Payment Advisory Board created by the APA. Dr. Fleishon presented thinking behind MEdpAC’s recommendations as follows:

·         Industry data on imaging is showing a decrease of 7.1% volume, MEdpAC is reporting an increase of 2% volume.

·         Bundling of services/billing codes to create reductions in reimbursement; particularly reductions for multiple body parts seen the same day.

·         Government is determining billing codes, formerly this was the purview of the AMA

·         Up to 50% reductions for same-day utilization of a second imaging modality

·         CMS is examining the feasibility of prior authorization for advanced imaging services

·         According to MEdpAC the top 10% of physicians account for 50% of imaging orders

ACR Response to these pressures

·         Economics Commission submitted comments. Organized grassroots advocacy effort.

·         More cuts are expected to medicine in general and radiology in particular to meet the goals of government debt reduction.

·         The super-committee (Jon Kyle is a member) in Washington, formed to find savings, needs to be lobbied about how these changes will affect health care

·         www.radiologysaveslives.org

ACR Locally

The Maryland law is being held up in courts, limiting self-referral for advanced imaging.

Radiology assistants (Arizona is one of 29 states allowing practice). H.R. 3032 addresses reimbursement and ACR supports this bill

Scope of practice issues –

Iowa – board of nursing allowed nurses to perform fluoroscopy

                New Mexico – Nurse practitioners are allowed to perform any imaging exam.

www.RadPAC.org

                contributions to legislatures has increased from just over $500,000 in 2005 to $1,211,477 in 2010. RADPAC contributions on a percentage basis are high for medical professional organization but lower than other lobbying groups.

Through RADPAC, imaging centers can arrange for site visits by congressmen to see radiology departments and learn more about the work we perform. For more information, contact Ted Burnes tburnes@acr.org  this will allow legislators to spend approximately 1 – two hours touring and discussing work in the imaging center. RADPAC can arrange the details and logistics of the site visit and in selected cases will supply funding for campaign contributions.

ACR Advocacy Committee:

New effort to optimize national and encourage local efforts at grassroots advocacy. In Arizona, Dr. Fleishon recommends that we coordinate the resources of all imaging constituents in order to have an effective voice.

              

ACR Quality and Safety

·         Accreditation

·         Practice guidelines and technical standards

·         ACR National Radiology Data Regulations (NRDR)

o   Monitoring CT dosage

“Image Gently”

“Image Wisely”

ACR Education Center

                Opened March 2008

ACR Research

                ACR clinical research center ~50% ACR budget and staff

                ACRIN-ACR Investigative Network

RTOG Radiation Therapy Oncology Group

Other Resources

JACR – practice applications. Practiceleaders.acr.org

Bryan Dodd

There is a full-time sonographer position in Hawaii. General Abd, OB/Gyn & RVT needed. Contact:

http://www.facebook.com/nennetteespejocasino

Nennette Espejo-Casino