Impact of Outpatient Palliative Care Services on Resource Utilization and Cost Management in a Capitated Medicare Population.

The integration of palliative care into the U.S. health care system has grown significantly, with outpatient palliative care services (OPCSs) playing an increasingly vital role in managing patients with serious illnesses.

Appropriateness of radiology procedures performed in children with gastrointestinal symptoms and conditions.

Background & Aims: Exposure to ionizing radiation from diagnostic imaging procedures (DIPs) has been associated with an increased risk of cancer in children. In particular, gastrointestinal imaging has been identified as a significant factor that contributes to exposure of children to radiation during diagnostic procedures. We performed a longitudinal assessment of gastrointestinal-associated DIPs to identify practices that might be targeted to reduce exposure of pediatric patients to radiation.

Diagnostic imaging studies performed in children over a nine-year period.

Background And Objective: Diagnostic imaging procedures (DIPs) producing radiation exposure in children have been associated with increased cancer risk. To develop effective clinical practice interventions that reduce pediatric radiation exposure, a longitudinal assessment of DIP ordering practices in the current clinical climate was performed. Our objective was to determine the prevalence and characteristics of DIPs ordered by physicians in an independent physicians association treating a general pediatric population.