This issue of Academic Radiology presents three review articles focusing on different challenges academic radiology will face on the road to 2020. These articles reflect select presentations from the Association of University Radiologists (AUR) Carestream Innovations in Academic Radiology Course, which was given during the 2012 AUR Meeting. AUR has partnered with Carestream Health to sponsor a yearly course centered on innovative aspects of academic radiology since 2009. Previous topics have included “Cutting Edge in Optical Imaging” (2009), “Quality and Safety in Academic Radiology” (2010), and “Enterprise-Wide and Multi-Site Imaging and Archiving” (2011). Carestream is a key industry partner of the AUR, promoting training in innovations in our specialty, and we are grateful for their support. Academic Radiology provides the opportunity to capture valuable content provided to the attendees of the 2012 AUR Carestream course and share this with its readership and particularly with academic radiologists who are unable to attend the course.
In 2012, the course was changed from a traditional 30- to 60-minute didactic format to a TEDMED format. The program was called “Impact in Academic Radiology of Healthcare Reform: What Will We Look Like in 2020?” and was divided into three distinct sessions—one for each academic mission: education, research, and clinical care. Each of the three sessions explored the future of the missions of academic radiology departments with a series of 10-minute presentations by thought leaders in our field. The course culminated with a keynote presentation by Dr Richard Baron. The three articles presented in this Academic Radiology issue focus on imaging informatics (“Imaging Informatics: Essential Tools for the Delivery of Imaging Services”), the impact of the Affordable Care Act (“Impact of Affordable Care Act on Academic Radiology Departments’ Clinical, Research and Education Missions”), and, finally, balancing the three missions in the current environment (“Balancing the Three Missions and the Impact on Academic Radiology”). In “Imaging Informatics: Essential Tools for the Delivery of Imaging Services,” Dr Mendelson reviews tools that the future radiologist will need, in addition to the opportunities that informatics and analytics provide to our profession to take the challenge of doing more for less and with higher quality. In the second article, a team of scholars explores the impact of the Affordable Care Act on academic radiology departments with an emphasis on the role that quality will play in the future of radiology. The final article explores the difficult balancing act between the three missions and their competition for the academic radiologist’s time.
It is our hope that the readership of Academic Radiology will find these articles informative and helpful in planning the future of our departments and profession.
Reference
- 1. What is TEDMED? Available at http://www.tedmed.com/about-tedmed/what-is-tedmed . Accessed July 29, 2013.