RadRx

07/04/2025

✨ Happy Independence Day! ✨

Today, we celebrate the freedom and courage that make this country so special. May your day be filled with pride, gratitude, and plenty of red, white, and blue!

Stay safe, enjoy the fireworks, and keep the spirit of independence alive — today and every day.

06/27/2025

Due to a massive screw up by AT&T the office phone is out of order (since yesterday) and will be so until Monday, July 7th. There is not even a way for me to pick up voice mails, so please use the Contact button on radrx.com for all communications.

06/20/2025

📉 Can AI Help Solve the Radiologist Shortage? 📈

A new international literature review suggests that AI shines brightest when interpreting scans from patients with either very high or very low odds of illness—potentially cutting radiologist workload by up to 53%. This could be a game changer as healthcare systems grapple with global radiologist shortages, burnout, and increasing diagnostic demands.

But it's not all smooth scanning ahead. The review flags persistent ethical, legal, and workflow concerns, including:

📍 Trust in AI systems and who’s liable for errors

📍 Fears over job disruption and loss of human judgment

📍 Gaps in real-world, primary research on AI impact

Researchers urge that radiologists—not AI—must retain final decision-making power, at least during a transition period. The bottom line? AI has promise to boost care quality and resilience, but adoption must be thoughtful and evidence-based.

AI shines in radiology when tasked with interpreting images of patients whose odds of illness are either very high or very low. In these cases, the technology could help mitigate burnout and supplement staffing.

06/20/2025

🏥💡 On-Premise AI in Radiology Shows Promise for Chest Pain Workups

A radiology team at UT Southwestern tested a new on-premise AI solution for coronary CT angiography (CCTA) exams—offering a potential breakthrough in cost savings, faster workflows, and data security.

📊 In a study of 1,041 scans, the AI achieved "substantial to near perfect agreement" with expert readers when ruling out coronary artery disease. While its negative predictive value was high, helping to quickly triage low-risk patients, its positive predictive value was lower, underscoring the need for continued human oversight.

🏁 Key Takeaways:

🚀 Faster turnaround + local data control

🔒 Avoids cloud-related security and cost concerns

👩‍⚕️ Still requires expert review for flagged cases

This study highlights how hybrid AI workflows can streamline chest pain evaluations in high-volume settings without sacrificing clinical judgment.

Such assistance is increasingly necessary given rising volumes of CCTA scans necessary to assess chest pain—the primary cause of outpatient and ED visits.

06/20/2025

🚨 Physician Shortage Crisis Intensifies: What’s Driving Doctors to Leave?

AMA President Bruce Scott, MD, is sounding the alarm on a worsening physician workforce crisis—and the reasons are stacking up fast:

🩺 Why are doctors burning out and leaving?

Crushing administrative burdens (think endless prior auths)

Declining Medicare reimbursements—down 33% since 2000 (adjusted for inflation!)

Increased workloads and patient complexity

Lack of federally funded residency spots despite more med school grads

Over $200K in medical school debt, with loan forgiveness on hold

Immigration barriers for international med grads—who make up 25% of rural care

💥 Nearly 1 in 5 physicians plan to retire or leave practice in the next 2 years.
📉 The U.S. faces a shortfall of 80,000+ physicians by 2035, per AAMC.

“Physicians are being asked to do more, paid less, and blocked from doing what matters most—caring for patients,” says Scott.

🛠 AMA is pushing for bold reforms:

Fix Medicare pay

Cut red tape

Expand residency slots

Support international grads

👉 This is a national healthcare emergency in the making.

https://healthexec.com/topics/healthcare-management/healthcare-policy/ama-president-highlights-growing-crisis-facing-us-physicians?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=rb_news

Perhaps AI can assist with the shortage by making physicians more efficient.

American Medical Association President Bruce Scott, MD, explains some of the key issues facing physicians, including burnout, growing medical staffing shortages, doctors leaving rural areas, increasing patients and declining Medicare payments.

06/20/2025

🔍 AI Helps Reduce Radiologist Workload in Prostate Cancer MRI 🧠💼

A recent study shows that tweaking an existing AI algorithm for prostate cancer detection can significantly cut down MRI interpretation workload for radiologists—by as much as 20%.

Researchers introduced a “rule-out” approach using uncertainty quantification (UQ), which allows the AI to automatically triage low-risk scans and flag only uncertain cases for human review. This hybrid method mimics human diagnostic uncertainty and streamlines workflow without sacrificing accuracy.

📉 The potential payoff: Fewer scans for radiologists to read, more efficient cancer detection, and customizable thresholds based on a center’s staffing and performance goals.

As prostate MRI volumes rise with watch-and-wait care models, semi-autonomous AI may offer a scalable solution for sustainable prostate cancer management. ⚙️🩻

With prostate MRI assessments now being utilized more frequently, experts suggest AI could offer a more sustainable approach to managing growing workloads.

06/19/2025

🧠📸 AI in Radiology Is Getting Its Own Accreditation Program

The American College of Radiology (ACR) is laying the groundwork for a first-of-its-kind accreditation program for artificial intelligence in imaging, aiming for a formal launch by 2027. As AI adoption grows, ACR leaders say it’s clear that real-world AI performance can diverge from premarket testing—and radiology needs quality oversight just like traditional modalities.

🔍 Modeled after decades of ACR accreditation standards in areas like mammography and radiation oncology, the new AI program will evaluate:

AI governance

Model selection & validation

Acceptance testing

Ongoing performance monitoring

In the meantime, ACR has rolled out ARCH-AI, a recognition program to help practices prepare for full accreditation and shape best practices.

This initiative marks a critical step toward ensuring safe, effective, and trusted AI implementation in clinical imaging.

📅 Stay tuned—full program expected by 2027!

As the use of AI in imaging continues to grow, it’s “become clear" that real world performance of these products can defer from premarket testing, experts note.

06/19/2025

It's Q & A Thursday!

❓ Which branch does the middle hepatic artery arise from in the liver?

🅰️ The middle hepatic artery (MHA) is a variant artery that typically supplies segment IV of the liver.

🔍 The MHA may arise from the following arteries--

➡️ Proper hepatic artery (most common)
➡️ Right or left hepatic artery (less common)
➡️ Gastroduodenal or common hepatic artery (rare)

💡 It is important that the physician provides detailed information regarding the origin of the MHA to ensure that catheterization codes are captured correctly as it may be its own branch, or it may be a more distal branch of the another artery.

06/17/2025

🔔 Breast Tumor Ablation Coding Updates Coming July 1, 2025 🔔

👉 New Category III CPT® Codes:

0970T Ablation, benign breast tumor (eg, fibroadenoma), percutaneous, laser, including imaging guidance when performed, each tumor

0971T Ablation, malignant breast tumor(s), percutaneous, laser, including imaging guidance when performed, unilateral

Both include imaging guidance when performed and should not be reported with 76641, 76642, 76940, or 76942.

👉 Revised Guidelines for Code 0581T
0581T Ablation, malignant breast tumor(s), percutaneous, cryotherapy, including imaging guidance when performed, unilateral

Key reminders for codes 0581T, 0970T & 0971T:

➡️ Report only once per breast.

➡️ Codes include all imaging guidance.

➡️ Do not report with breast or ultrasound imaging codes 76641, 76642, 76940, 76942.

👉 Cryoablation of Fibroadenomas?

Still use CPT code 19105 Ablation, cryosurgical, of fibroadenoma, including ultrasound guidance, each fibroadenoma

➡️ Report per lesion

➡️ Includes ultrasound guidance.



What topics would you like to see featured for ?

06/16/2025

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06/16/2025

🚨 Thinking About Going Solo? Here’s my unfiltered advice for aspiring solopreneurs in coding and health information:

💡 If you crave stability and steady paychecks, solopreneurship may not be for you.
There are ups and downs. Income fluctuates. Clients don’t always pay on time. In fact, the bigger the organization, the slower the payment in my experience. And yes, contracts can be canceled with little notice.

💸 Set your rates with intention.
Don’t lowball to get in the door—you’ll regret it. The clients who pay the least often demand the most. Meanwhile, those willing to pay top dollar tend to respect your time and expertise. When you underprice yourself, you don’t just hurt your own business, you devalue the entire profession. (This includes ridiculously cheap education as well-there is a balance)

🧭 Set boundaries early.
You train your clients how to treat you. If you’re available 24/7, they’ll expect it forever. Respect your time and communicate during business hours. You’re building a business, not becoming someone’s 24/7 safety net.

🙅‍♀️ Not every client is worth it.
Choose the right clients—those who value your skills, respect your time, and appreciate your work. Don’t chase every dollar. It’s not worth the drain on your energy or integrity.

🌱 And finally—don’t quit your day job just yet. Build slowly. Test the waters. Learn as you grow. Solopreneurship is a journey, not a leap.

💬 If you're a fellow solopreneur, what lessons have you learned the hard way?

06/13/2025

🧭 Patients & AI in Healthcare: Hope Meets Hesitation 🤖💬

A new review published in the International Journal of Medical Informatics sheds light on how patients perceive the growing presence of AI in healthcare—and the findings are anything but black and white.

🔍 Key takeaways from the review of 38 studies across 13 countries:

✅ 75% of patients recognize the benefits of AI—like improved accuracy and efficiency
⚠️ 50–70% still express concerns, particularly about:
➡️ Losing the human touch in care
➡️ Trusting AI’s safety and reliability
➡️ Data privacy and security

🧠 Acceptance of AI is shaped not just by performance, but by:

✳️ Individual perceptions
✳️Provider relationships
✳️Healthcare system context
✳️Societal trust and transparency

📢 Lead author Dr. Osnat Bashkin emphasizes that successful AI integration requires more than good tech—it demands transparency, human oversight, and patient engagement at every step.

Healthcare AI isn't just a tech challenge—it's a human one.

https://aiin.healthcare/topics/patient-care/digital-transformation/research-review-patients-have-understandably-mixed-feelings-about-ai-healthcare?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=rb_news

A new review of the relevant scientific literature suggests many if not most patients are aware that healthcare AI’s emerging benefits exist side-by-side with its persistent uncertainties.