Reston, VA - Technology has been identified as a primary driver of health care costs in the United States. Paul E. Wallner, D.O., and Andre Konski, M.D., MBA, look into how the rapid emergence of new technology impacts the already strained health care system in a new article published the November issue of the JACR. Alongside cost comes physician pressure to justify the rapid pace of development of such technologies, which have prompted discussion on coverage with evidence development. The impact on the radiological community is discussed in A Changing Paradigm in the Study and Adoption of Emerging Health Care Technologies: Coverage With Evidence Development.

In terms of issues facing radiology, the timing of the oral board examinations has received its share of attention. Radiology is the only specialty offering them during residency, and the recent trend toward subspecialization has raised discussion of delaying the exam for one to two years in order to create time for exposure to subspecialty training during residency. In 2007, the College created a task force in response to rising concerns, and examined the potential implications of this change on radiology professionals and institutions. The results of these discussions are outlined in the ACR White Paper: Task Force on Timing of the Oral Boards in Diagnostic Radiology, by Barry D. Pressman, M.D., FACR, and Thomas R. Hoffman, J.D.

IRQN Award Paper: Operational Rounds: A Practical Administrative Process to Improve Safety and Clinical Services in Radiology, by Lane F. Donnelly, M.D., et al., examines the process of initiating a patient safety program optimizing the number of attendees during rounds. The lead author's operational rounds program has experienced success in improving care - since beginning this program, the mean number of days between serious safety events involving radiology has doubled. This paper offers examples of improvement plans, which have led to the demonstration of radiology's commitment to patient safety as well as identified areas for continued improvement.
The November issue of the JACR is an important resource for radiology and nuclear medicine professionals as well as students seeking clinical and educational improvement.

For more information about the JACR, please visit www.jacr.org.

The ACR is a national professional organization serving more than 32,000 radiologists, radiation oncologists, interventional radiologists, nuclear medicine physicians and medical physicists with programs focusing on the practice of radiology and the delivery of comprehensive health care services.

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