Health care has been in a state of reform for years, with providers focusing on improving the quality of their clinical services while reducing expenses. They want to ensure that patients from all corners of the country are given access to care, regardless of their geographical locations.
AuntMinnie.com explained that a recent proposal, published online in the Journal of the American Medical Association, aims to make it easier for physicians to obtain medical licenses across state lines. It has the potential to improve care access to underserved areas of the U.S. and stimulate growth in the advancement of telemedicine.
Developed by representatives of state medical boards under the tutelage of the Federation of State Medical Boards, the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact would enable eligible providers to apply to an interstate commission for expedited licensure in certain states. This would avoid the standard protocol of applying directly to one of 70 medical and osteopathic boards within the U.S. and its territories. Physicians could also arrange for a special telemedicine license if it is available.
The expedited document would be considered a new state license and carry the same weight, negating the time-consuming and costly process for practicing teleradiology in various states.
Integrating photos with X-rays
According to a study recently published in Academic Radiology, acquiring a patient’s photograph at the same time as his or her X-ray might double the rate at which providers detect wrong-patient errors.
Srini Tridandapani, Ph.D., of the Emory University School of Medicine, and colleagues recruited 90 radiologists to participate in a study that examined 166 photography-radiology combinations obtained from 30 patients. The 83 unique pairs were broken down at random, with researchers simulating wrong-patient errors by having doctors interpret a chosen set of 10 combinations containing roughly 10 percent mismatches.
With the introduction of photographs, the radiologists increased error detection rates from 31 percent to 77 percent. Additionally, Tridandapani and his colleagues determined that integrating photos into medical imaging results did not have a significant impact on interpretation time.
The assistant professor in Emory’s department of radiology and imaging sciences estimated that these errors occur in roughly one out of every 10,000 patients. On an annual scale, reducing mistakes would cut down on wasted time, allowing radiologists and referring physicians to interact with more patients on a daily basis.
Contact Viztek for more information.
Tridandapani
Ronny Bachrach
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