Here is a great case from Dr. Wharton on Medscape of a 45 year old patient with hyperlipidemia (high LDL-C and high triglycerides) taking a high-potency statin who presents with pericardial effusion and signs of tamponade.
Up until now most facilities are familiar with their options for accrediting organizations when it comes time to submit their nuclear application to seek their mandated Nuclear Accreditation. Many are aware of the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (known to many as ICANL) and the American College of Radiology (ACR). There is also the less known Joint Commission Ambulatory Accreditation for Imaging Centers too. Did you know there is now a fourth accreditation organization approved by CMS for imaging accreditation?
This week we stumped a lot of you with Cardiophile’s Echo Quiz. The most common answer we got from our followers was Ebstein’s anomaly and it is easy to see why as both diseases share marked enlargement of the right atrium. Let’s discuss the two diseases and how to differentiate them.
Before starting CardioServ, an Accreditation Consulting business in 2007, I used to scan full-time in adult and pediatric echo. I too, like most other techs, had constant and nagging neck pain. Once I stopped the daily scanning and my neck pain eased up, it was out of sight out of mind. My days became consumed with consulting and teaching instead of scanning so I no longer exposed myself to repetitive stress injuries that many sonographers face.main
Focused ultrasound (FUS) made headlines in the United States recently with the FDA approval of the therapy for ablation of prostate cancer. As the Education director at an accreditation consulting firm specializing in diagnostic imaging, I was immediately intrigued by this new form of treatment and wanted to know how it could be used to potentially treat cardiovascular diseases.
We love providing superior accreditation consulting to our clients and helping to improve healthcare through accreditation. We are excited to be celebrating 8 years in business here at CardioServ and we want to express our gratitude and thanks to all of our clients that continue to rely and trust us with their accreditation needs.
Back in July 2013, one of the revisions to the IAC Standards and Guidelines included “the structural and electrical integrity of the transducer must be checked between each use, using an ultrasound transducer leakage tester.” This revision becomes effective December 31st, 2015. That’s great, but why do we have to do this? What is a leakage tester? How does it work? Where can I get one?
Doctors’ offices, hospitals and everyone covered under HIPPA will be making the much anticipated switch to the ICD-10 on October 1, 2015. The number of diagnostic codes will increase from 14,000 to 70,000. What does this mean for a cardiology department or office? This new coding system has the potential to better identify public health problems and manage disease and outcomes. However, under ICD-10, there will be 845 codes for angioplasty! How can cardiologists understand and be prepared for the changes? Read on for the general and cardiology specific changes occurring and how you can be ready.
Will you be accrediting or reaccrediting with IAC soon? The Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC) has released updates to adult echo and vascular testing accreditation to become effective February 2016. Included are changes in credentialing and quality improvement that you will want to know about before your next accreditation! Check out this article highlighting the major differences in the new standards.
This week we would like to introduce you to Matthew Cox, BS, RDCS. Matthew will be presenting an interesting echo case study with an unusual diagnosis, be sure to check out the case study here!
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