A Central Florida woman sought a mammogram at two different medical facilities. Both said no.

She had a doctor’s order. She had insurance coverage. She’d had a breast ultrasound. She had a family history of breast cancer and a personal history of breast lumps. She’d had a benign breast lump removed the previous year, after an ultrasound and a mammogram.

But she … read more »

The radiologist who has appointed herself the “guardian angel” (her term) of confessed killer Joran van der Sloot has accused his lawyer of misleading her and demanded the return of $75,000 she had sent for bail money.

Mary Hamer, MD, of Lake City, Florida, has been financially supporting van der Sloot, who pleaded guilty on January 11 to killing Stephany Flores, … read more »

The University of Missouri Department of Radiology appears to be under investigation.

The Columbia Daily Tribune newspaper of Columbia, Missouri (home of the university), reported Sunday that:
Multiple sources have told the Tribune that radiology employees, including low-level staff members, recently were instructed by the UM System General Counsel’s office not to delete e-mails or destroy documents, indicating an investigation.
The newspaper also … read more »

A CNN report scheduled for tonight accuses most radiologists who take the exam to become board certified of cheating.

A CNN story about the report, posted online earlier today, begins: “For years, doctors around the country taking an exam to become board certified in radiology have cheated by memorizing test questions, creating sophisticated banks of what are known as ‘recalls,’ a … read more »

Mayo Clinic is building two new proton beam treatment facilities, one in Minnesota and one in Arizona. They exemplify either “what is wrong with American health care today” or an “investment to ensure that [Mayo's] patients have access to proven, effective, safe treatment for serious illnesses.”

Or maybe both. Or neither.

The “what’s wrong” assessment comes from Ezekiel J. Emanuel, MD, PhD, … read more »

What started as a whistleblower complaint by a radiologist has led the federal government to file a $150 million civil lawsuit against an Ypsilanti, Michigan, radiology company, its owners, and a physician.

The suit charges that the company generated at least 90 percent of its business by paying kickbacks to doctors for referrals and that unnecessary imaging tests put some patients … read more »

Parsimonious: characterized by parsimony; miserly; close. Synonymn: stingy.

Parsimonious: 1. exhibiting or marked by parsimony; especially: frugal to the point of stinginess. 2. sparing, restrained. Synonym: see stingy.

Parsimonious: unwilling to spend money or use resources; stingy or frugal.

Parsimonious: very unwilling to spend money or use resources.

Those definitions come from, respectively, Webster’s New World College Dictionary, Fourth Edition; Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Ninth … read more »