For years, health care providers relied on the combination of physical exams and PACS technology to accurately identify and diagnose various diseases. However, new modalities such as telemedicine may be making physicals obsolete.
According to HealthcareITNews, physicians’ abilities to use physical exams for accurate diagnoses is starting to wane. Rather than glean meaningful information from blood vessels in the eye, a patient’s gait or checking fingernails, doctors are becoming increasingly reliant on clinical technology to diagnose patients.
“A lot of people downplay the physical exam and [wrongly] say it’s fluff,” said Salvatore Mangione, associate director of the internal medicine residency at Philadelphia’s Jefferson Medical College, quoted by the news source.
While medical devices can be integral to determining the right course of action for care, technology can also be used to increase bedside medicine capabilities. Web-based programs can be used to enhance physical diagnostics. For example, at Johns Hopkins Hospital, a site called Murmurlab.org aims to improve medical residents’ abilities to use a stethoscope to identify serious cardiac problems from benign heart murmurs.
Although technology may be impacting the efficacy of physicals, there is no denying the usefulness of medical imaging systems in diagnostics.
Combine mammography, MRI for high-risk screening
According to a Canadian study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, annual MRI and mammography in high-risk cancer populations can be implemented into organized screening programs, Diagnostic Imaging reported. The results, gathered by the Ontario Breast Screening Program, showed that all breast cancers were detected either on standalone MRIs or in combination with mammography.
Led by Anna Chiarelli, Ph.D., of Prevention and Cancer Control, Cancer Care Ontario, researchers expanded the OBSP’s July 2011 program to screen women, aged 20 to 69 years old, who were at high risk of breast cancer. Using annual MRIs and digital mammography, they gathered data from 2,207 women with initial screening examinations.
The doctors found that the recall rate was significantly higher among women who had abnormal MRIs (15.1 percent) compared to abnormal mammograms (6.4 percent) or a combination of the two (4.7 percent).
Looking ahead, it is acceptable to hypothesize that recall rates will begin to drop after future rounds of double screening with MRI and mammography. The advancement of diagnostic imaging equipment has led to improved treatments for patients, and can help dispel any concerns regarding breast cancer care strategies.
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Ronny Bachrach
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