RadNews
September 2014

IN THIS ISSUE:
New MRI Safety Committee
ICD-10 Resources
Answers to ICD-10 Pop Quiz
New from NationalRad & More!

NationalRad Launches New MRI Safety Committee

MRI safety incidents are on the rise. There are many reasons why, including an increase in image-guided MRI and interventional MRI, stronger field strengths, emergent / trauma MRI, and reimbursement reductions that impact staffing decisions.

In an effort to address MRI safety and help you and your patients stay safe, we have launched a new MRI safety committee. As part of this new MRI safety initiative, we will be sharing information on the following subjects:

     + MRI field strength and zones
     + RF shielding
     + Magnetic shielding
     + MRI hazards
     + Cause of accidents
     + MRI safety procedures
     + MRI item classification system
     + General safety rules
     + Emergencies
     + Contrast administration guidelines
     + Screening implantable devices

Please expect to hear from Caryn Nolen, Director of Quality Assurance (QA) & Chief Radiologic Technologist, who will be disseminating information and scheduling your MRI safety committee meeting over the coming weeks. Should you have any questions about MRI safety in the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact Caryn at CNOLEN@NATIONALRAD.COM.

Let's all be a part of lowering MRI risk by making MRI safety a priority!

ICD-10 Resources

Over the past few months, in preparation for the transition to ICD-10, we have been sharing information about The Center's for Medicare & Medicaid Services' ROADTO10.ORG. With a little more than a year to go to the October 1, 2015 deadline, we recommend you explore and utilize the ROAD TO 10 resources if you have not visited the site already. In addition to BUILDING YOUR OWN ICD-10 ACTION PLAN, you can access the following documents in the site's TEMPLATE LIBRARY:

     + Process and System Inventory Template
     + Technology Vendor Assessment
     + Billing Service Assessment
     + Clearinghouse Assessment
     + Payer Assessment

These documents are intended to be used in conjunction with the ICD-10 action and will help you prepare for the transition.

To get a jumpstart on your ICD-10 transition, please visit ROADTO10.ORG'S ICD-10 BASICS.

NationalRad ICD-10 Pop Quiz Questions Answered

Last month, we sprung a pop-quiz on you and asked three ICD-10 questions. Here are the answers:

Question 1:
True or False? Proper ICD-10 coding of a pre-operative chest x-ray includes the diagnosis of the surgery to be performed.

Q1 Answer: True

Question 2:
What does laterality mean in terms of ICD-10, and how will it affect your practice?

Q2 Answer: Instead of knee pain, headaches, or low back pain with radiculopathy, you will have to specify where the pain is under the new ICD-10 coding

Question 3:
Which of the following sets of diagnoses would be coded correctly under the new ICD-10 coding system?
     A. Knee pain / headaches / low back pain with radiculopathy
     B. Medial knee pain / frontal headaches / low back pain with left lower extremity radiculopathy

Q3 Answer: B

Congrats to those of you who answered these correctly!

New Publications from NationalRad Radiologists

NationalRad musculoskeletal radiologist MICHAEL A. TALL, MD had a recent publication in the U.S. Army Medical Department Journal entitled, CERVICAL MYELOPATHY: DIAGNOSING ANOTHER GREAT IMPOSTOR. In this clinical review, the authors explore valid clinical tools for diagnosing cervical myelopathy, including cervical radiograph and T1 and T2 weighted MRI.

NationalRad neuroradiologist PAUL M. SHERMAN, MD also had a recent publication in the Annals of Neurology entitled, WHITE MATTER HYPERINTENSITIES AND HYPOBARIC EXPOSURE. The study, using fluid attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) MRI, shows strong evidence that non-hypoxic hypobaric exposure may induce subcortical white matter hyperintensity (WMH) lesions in a young, healthy population lacking other risk factors for WMH and occupational exposure (from altitude chamber and high-altitude flying) to other environmental-related potential causes of WMH.

To learn more about these subjects, please contact us at INFO@NATIONALRAD.COM.

New from NationalRad: Upcoming Lectures
Connect with Your Radiologists at an Upcoming Meeting!

RADIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF NORTH AMERICA (RSNA) 100TH SCIENTIFIC ASSEMBLY AND ANNUAL MEETING, November 30 - December 5, 2014, Chicago, IL

+ Case-based Review of Magnetic Resonance (An Interactive Session): Upper Extremity - TIMOTHY G. SANDERS, MD

+ Case-based Review of Musculoskeletal Radiology (An Interactive Session): Ankle and Foot - WILLIAM B. MORRISON, MD

To learn more about these topics, please contact us at INFO@NATIONALRAD.COM.

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