An ongoing trend to consolidate clinical information at the pointof patient care, the need to minimize equipment and system downtime,and growing interest in tracking trends and patterns are a few of thefactors driving the use of digital dashboards in radiology. Productsdesigned for specific roles within the imaging chain are assistingpractices, hospitals and imaging centers with the management of volumeand growth. Meanwhile, further developments are in the works.

The integration of computer-aided detection (CAD) software into theday-to-day practice of radiology has witnessed the enthusiasticadoption of the applications for some clinical indications. MammographyCAD, which was first greeted with skepticism and suspicion byradiologists, has since enjoyed a groundswell of support. Lung CAD,thanks to diligent efforts by early adopters, is showing signs that itmay be the next area of medicine to embrace widespread utilization ofthis technology.

The stage is set for computer-assisted detection’s next target;colon CAD is poised to make its mark in the next two years. One of theprimary barriers in the U.S. to colon CAD—the lack of reimbursement forscreening CT colonography—is starting to crumble. And several vendors,including iCAD Inc., Medicsight and Siemens Medical Solutions, aredeveloping easy-to-use colon CAD solutions with low false-positiverates.

A good RIS is almost essential to running and managing a radiologybusiness today—with imaging practices and departments often operatingin more than one location and with a premium on everyone’s time, fromreport turn-around to scheduling efficiency.

By distributing the benefits of advanced visualization software toolsto nearly any computer, anywhere, more and more clinicians arebenefiting from thin-client-based advanced imaging techniques. Plus,they can query radiologists live without major workflow interruptions.

While the demand for immediate transmission of digital images is high,and radiologic image compression offers a reduction in data volume, thedebate continues as to whether there is degradation in diagnostic imagequality. With storage prices dropping, many still question whetherimage compression is even necessary.

The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Friday issued a proposed rule that would allow the electronic prescribing of controlled substances. The agency will accept public comments until Sept. 25.

The House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee Wednesday approvedthe $575 million health IT bill to speed the adoption of EHRs. Theapproval came one day after House Energy and Commerce Chairman JohnDingell, D-Mich., and ranking member Joe Barton, R-Texas, introducedthe legislation to the subcommittee.