Dear Healthcare Informatics Insider,
It's no secret that radiology departments in the U.K. are under considerable strain from the combination of ever-increasing imaging volume and a lack of resources due to austerity measures from the National Health Service. Detailed radiologist workload analysis may help open the door for efficiency gains, however.
Using relative value units to compare radiologist productivity, researchers from Royal Blackburn Hospital and the University of St. Andrews had some interesting and surprising findings. Click here to learn more.
In other news from the U.K., researchers from London discovered that many physicians are using their smartphones for clinical purposes and to consult with colleagues. However, sometimes those consultations include sending photos of imaging studies via unsecure messaging methods. What else did they find? Click here to find out.
In other articles this month in our Healthcare Informatics Community, learn about some do's and don'ts for radiologists with social media by clicking here.
Popular columnist Dr. Neelam Dugar shares her perspective on the practice of home reporting for emergency nighttime radiology in her latest column, which you can access by clicking here.
Are electronic arrows necessary to highlight foci of interest on CT scans? Contributing writers Dr. Stephen Baker and Dr. Johan Blickman have their own opinion on the matter. See if you agree by clicking here.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has released a free mobile app designed to help physicians determine the level of treatment and prognosis for cancer patients. The TNM Cancer Staging App was developed by a team of radiologists and cancer specialists and you can read all about it by clicking here.
If you have any tips or suggestions for topics you'd like to see covered in the Healthcare Informatics Community, please feel free to drop me a line.
