Radiology's 100th Year - A Time to Celebrate and Reflect
ACR Bulletin
June 1995
Memo to the Membership
Radiology''s 100th Year - A Time to Celebrate and Reflect
By Neal Templeton
Chairman, Board of Chancellors
As we go through our routine day of seeing patients, consulting with our colleagues in medicine, providing radiation therapy, performing interventional procedures, and interpreting radiographs, we don''t often think of the feelings that must have been experienced by Professor Roentgen and others who first discovered and worked with the amazing x-ray. And we don''t often think of the pioneers who literally gave their lives and sacrificed their health to development of this miracle of medicine. Fortunately, this year, marking the centennial of this discovery is providing us with that opportunity.
The community of radiology decided a few years back to make a "big deal" of this centennial year and we have every right to do so. Last month, in conjunction with the American Roentgen Ray Society meeting in Washington, DC, we celebrated with an excellent convocation. Those events are described in this issue of the Bulletin. Other activities are planned for the remainder of the year. While these events provide the chance to celebrate, they also provide the stimulous to reflect on our profession and look to the future.
Radiology has been successful because its role in diagnosing and treating patients has become essential. The tools and techniques that have been developed and refined are recognized as essential by our medical colleagues and patients. In the last two decades, growth in the utilization of radiology has been incredible. The growth is proof of the need for and contribution of radiology in medicine. The growth and success has also garnered a great deal of attention. Some of the attention is good and as you know, some of it is not.
The popularity of radiology has led many of our non-radiology colleagues to venture into our field. Unfortunately, many have ventured without adequate training in the appropriate use of radiology or sufficient respect for the need for radiation protection. This threatens the integrity of the science of radiology and the quality of radiology that patients receive. We know this as "self-referral," and often think first of the economic consequences of this activity, but more important is the diminution of the overall quality of radiology provided to patients.
Our success has also brought a tremendous amount of attention from the government and third-parties who pay for radiology services on behalf of patients. It is interesting to draw a comparison to the reaction to the growth in radiology and the growth in other fields. In other fields, growth is viewed as good. The growth rate of radiology, transferred to any element of the manufacturing community, would draw praise from all the analysts. In radiology, we are criticized for the growth. We may spend a lot of time scratching our heads over this, but a large part of our effort today is devoted to justifying the value and contribution of what we provide for patients. Sometimes it seems that the better we get, the more we are criticized.
While it is difficult for us to imagine the excitement of Professor Roentgen over his discovery, can you imagine his puzzling over the kinds of things we worry about in our practices everyday. Utilization review, self-referral, RBRVS five-year review, Medicare updates, ER radiograph interpretation, managed care, capitation, CAQs, accreditation, standards, appropriateness criteria, professional liability are a few of the challenges in modern radiology that we could share with the professor.
In spite of all these distractions, I''m proud to say that we continue to excel. We continue to develop new techniques and equipment. We continue to improve the quality of our work. And most importantly, we continue to improve the care we provide to patients. Overall the obstacles and challenges of modern radiology, we will maintain that goal through the next century of radiology.