News From Around the Web
> While the use of magnetic resonance imaging to diagnose appendicitis in adult patients results in some life expectancy gains when compared to the use of CT, the differences were too small to offset the costs associated with MR, according to a study in Radiology. "In the setting of suspected appendicitis in adults, concerns over radiation exposure from CT should not directly translate into paradigm shifts toward MR imaging," wrote study author Sorapop Kiatpongsan, MD, PhD, from Harvard University, and colleagues. Article
> Postoperative radiotherapy increases survival rates for patients with non-small cell lung cancer, according to a study present recently at the Multidisciplinary Symposium in Thoracic Oncology in Chicago, MedPage Today reports. The study found that patients who received radiation therapy after surgery had a median overall survival of 42 months compared to 8 months for patients who had surgery without radiation therapy. Article
> A healthcare startup based in the Philippines has developed a web-based application that promises to help solve what has become a pronounced worldwide shortage of radiologists, Forbes reports. The application is designed to train more radiologists by linking less-experienced apprentices or residents in regions like Southeast Asia with more experienced radiologists regardless of location. Article
Health IT News
> Patients increasingly are using technology to share their health information with family or friends, and access to information is causing them to pay better attention to their care, according to a recent study. Published this week in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, the research looked at patient use of OpenNotes, initially a one-year program that gave patients electronic access to medical notes written by their doctors. Article
Health Finance News
> Hospital hiring continues to rouse itself from its slumber, with another 3,500 jobs added to payrolls in October, according to new data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. About 25,200 more people are working at the nation's hospitals than they were a year ago, for a total of about 4.8 million hospital employees. Article
And Finally... Hold that tiger. Article