Fast 5 Speakers Touch on Some of Radiology’s Key Challenges

Be the Shoulders

One of the first pieces of advice many young radiologists receive is to ‘get a mentor’. “Mentors provide guidance and advice, they give you feedback, help you make connections, and enable you to realize your potential,” said Tessa Cook, MD, PhD, associate professor of radiology at the University of Pennsylvania.

Other important players in a young radiologist’s career include sponsors and coaches.

Unlike mentors, sponsors might not even work within one’s organization. “But they see you, from a distance, and they use their reputation to promote you and help open doors for you,” Dr. Cook added.

Executive coaches, on the other hand, can provide perspective and guide one through various career challenges.  

Dr. Cook encouraged everyone to consider becoming a mentor, sponsor, or possibly a coach. “We all stood on the shoulders of those who came before us, now let’s be the shoulders for those looking to follow,” she said.

An Opportunity for Opportunistic Screening

A patient arrives in the emergency room exhibiting signs of a kidney stone. The examining physician orders a CT scan of their abdomen and pelvis, and the radiologist points out the kidney stone and size.

Although the diagnosis is done, the question is, are radiologists missing an opportunity to do more?

According to Abhinav Suri, MPH, a medical student at the University of California, Los Angeles, the answer is an unequivocal ‘yes’.

“With opportunistic screening, a radiologist can look for diagnoses that fall outside the original reason for the scan,” Suri said.

For example, using the same kidney stone scan, a radiologist can look at the vessels and possibly detect atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease or at the pancreas to see if a patient is at risk for diabetes. 

“While it would be nearly impossible for a radiologist to screen all these conditions themselves, technology can now automate the opportunistic screening of disease,” Suri concluded.

Fixing Responsibility When AI Fails

While the diagnostic accuracy of AI models is steadily increasing, little attention is being paid to the legal issues that may arise when things go wrong. “If an autonomous algorithm misdiagnoses a condition, who’s liable?” asked Niraj Nirmal Pandey, MD, a cardiovascular and interventional radiologist at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi.

The challenge is that today’s legal framework does not have any specific civil liability rules for AI-related claims.

According to Dr. Pandey, with all the advancements in AI, there needs to be parallel legal reforms that address the issue of medical negligence related to the use of AI.

“There is no doubt that AI will be a big part of radiology, but to what extent depends on whether these legal reforms fix responsibility when AI fails,” he said.

The Value of Community Engagement

While emerging technologies like AI continue to advance, persistent barriers prevent some communities from realizing the full benefits that radiology services can provide.

The good news is that community engagement can improve community health outcomes. The bad news is that, despite its proven effectiveness, community engagement remains underutilized in radiology.

According to Lauren Groner, DO, MS, assistant professor of radiology at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City, it doesn’t have to be this way. “As experts in established and emerging imaging technologies, we are all poised to engage community members and center their voices to improve their health and do so equitably,” she said.

Dr. Groner encouraged radiologists to form and leverage meaningful community partnerships. “As radiologists, we sit at the intersection of diagnosis, treatment and innovation and are thus uniquely positioned to spearhead efforts as community collaborators,” she concluded.

Using Social Media to Educate and Advocate

For Robyn Roth, MD, a diagnostic radiologist and women's imaging specialist at Cooper University Health Care in Camden, NJ, it all started with a selfie. Her popular breast health social media platform, @theboobiedocs, quickly led to TV appearances and speaking engagements.

Now, she’s helping radiologists unlock the power of social media.

“Our patients turn to social media for health-related information, making it a powerful tool for doctors,” Dr. Roth said.

For radiology, social media can also be used to educate patients on issues like radiation safety, a topic that is rife with misinformation. “We need to break the fourth wall and use social media to share factual information to a larger, younger audience,” Dr. Roth explained.

Dr. Roth suggests starting small, with one or two platforms, and focusing on identifying your audience and developing your message. “Incorporate your passions and purpose, be authentic, put yourself out there and, most importantly, have some fun along the way,” she concluded.