MRI-safe pacemakers? As far as the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine is concerned, all pacemakers are MRI-safe.

OK, we’re exaggerating. But apparently not by much. Cardiologists at Johns Hopkins say they’ve developed a protocol that has allowed safe MRI scans of patients with pacemakers and defibrillators—older devices, not the new MRI-safe models.

A study published in the October 4 issue of … read more »

Erroneous CT scan readings by four British Columbia radiologists in 2010 have so far contributed to at least three deaths and serious continuing harm to the health of several others, the health minister for the Canadian province announced this week.

We’ve written previously about the mess in the province, where an examination of the work of four radiologists eventually involved checking … read more »

How do you react to the news that a 100-year-old woman has just had her first mammogram? Boo or cheer?

Robert Smith, PhD, was appalled at a loud cheer when an announcement at a medical meeting heralded just such a milestone. “Several of us were just shaking our heads in disbelief,” he said, “because it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever to … read more »

We talk a lot these days about the risks of radiation exposure to patients, but what about the risks to doctors? Specifically, to interventional cardiologists who perform heart surgery using X-ray-guided catheters?

A new study, published online Tuesday in the European Heart Journal, suggests that the level of ionizing radiation to which they’re exposed does cause cell damage, but that the … read more »

Judging from the results of a new Canadian study, ordering an echocardiogram before major noncardiac surgery does more harm than good.

Specifically, the study found no evidence that patients who underwent a presurgery echocardiogram had improved survival rates one year after surgery. Some patients—those who had two or fewer risk factors for postoperative cardiac complications and who had not undergone cardiac … read more »

A prestigious medical organization, asked to analyze the Food and Drug Administration’s “fast-track” approval process for medical devices, took nearly two years to conclude that:

The process is fundamentally flawed and should be scrapped;
Even though it hasn’t actually approved any unsafe or ineffective devices;
And the organization has no specific recommendations for a replacement process.

Can you blame the FDA for responding, in … read more »

Heart Check America, a multistate chain that offers full-body CT scans and other “preventive imaging,” suffered the latest in a series of legal blows last week when Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan sued the company.

The attorney general accused owner Sheila Haddad and manager David Haddad, her son, of using “unfair and deceptive business practices” to pressure customers into 10-year screening … read more »

Would you expect your first visit to a weight-loss clinic to start with an ultrasound thyroid exam and an electrocardiogram?

According to the FBI, that’s what sometimes happened at five Chicago-area clinics (two of which appear to have closed suddenly) operated by Gautam Gupta, MD. The FBI thinks those tests were part of an insurance fraud scheme.

Dr. Gupta is, according to … read more »

Until recently, two cardiologists in Jackson, Tennessee, had squared off, with two hospitals and a radiologist drawn into the fray, over sensational but secret charges of fraudulent billing, kickbacks, illicit self-referrals, and deliberate overuse of medical services.

Earlier this month, a heavyweight joined the fight. The federal Department of Justice ended the secrecy by intervening on the side of the whistleblower—but … read more »

The National Physicians Alliance (NPA) seems to think there’s entirely too much imaging going on. On Monday, it released three “top five” lists that collectively contain seven recommendations against certain imaging practices.

The lists “reflect common clinical activities in primary care where the quality of care could be improved,” according to an NPA news release.

This project started in 2009 with a … read more »