July 2010

Media stories about patients being overexposed during CT scans, estimated risks of cancer incidence from CT scans and the increased use of CT imaging has generated considerable attention on the topic of medical radiation exposure. New techniques and technology, however, have proven successful in reducing the standard patient dose by 50 to 90 percent. Now, the only impediment to lower dose is for these largely software-based techniques to become a routine part of clinical practice.

An estimated 1.5 million medication errors occur each year and according to the Institute of Medicine (IOM), e-prescribing may be the key to reducing these risks.

The current healthcare environment and significant advances in mobile and internet technology are changing the way physicians practice medicine. It is no longer about whether physicians are online, but rather how they are online.

Healthcare reform has focused much attention on measuring quality in clinical settings, and as a result, providers must improve procedural outcomes and justify the cost and necessity of procedures. For PCI procedures, intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) provides interventional cardiologists with a tool to assess the lesions and extent of coronary artery disease (CAD) for improved clinical decisions.

There are some technologies that will forever change the way medicine is practiced. CT scanning is one of them. There is hardly an area of medicine that doesnt benefit from the information gleaned from a CT scan.

Although my experience may not mirror the majority of practicing heart rhythm experts, I have noticed a significant decrease in the number of conventional implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) and pacemakers in my practice. There are several possible explanations.

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