Dear AuntMinnieEurope Member,
Unlike surgeons, general practitioners, and anesthetists (or anesthesiologists), radiologists have tended not to be among the high-risk groups when it comes to medical negligence cases and tribunals. But that appears to have changed markedly over the past few years.
For instance, a U.K. consultant radiologist and medical director of a company providing nonobstetric ultrasound services recently received a warning about quality of care following a thorough investigation of his work.
As well as ensuring their standards of practice and procedures are adequate, radiologists have an obligation to display sufficient compassion and a positive attitude to patients, it seems. In a negligence case, a radiologist was reportedly too laid-back when a patient suffered burns from a radiofrequency ablation procedure for a thymic neuroendocrine tumor.
Also worth a close look is research from Spain about x-ray examinations of the spine. A group from Madrid thinks a relatively new single-exposure machine can help to optimize patient radiation dose and reduce artifacts. This development may have important implications for pediatric cases.
In other news, evidence is growing that long-term use of vaping is harmful. Check out the results of the study presented at this week's European Respiratory Society Congress in Vienna.
Dr. Jacopo Nori is a widely respected breast imaging specialist from Florence, Italy. In a viewpoint column, he has expressed concern that the lack of education and awareness remains a significant barrier to the adoption of contrast-enhanced mammography.
Philip Ward
Editor in Chief
AuntMinnieEurope.com
