Pam Woodard elected President of the ACR

Pamela Woodard, MD, FACR has been elected President of the American College of Radiology at the 2024 ACR meeting.  Congratulations!

RFS Recap of Spring MORADS Meeting

MORads Spring Meeting 2024 – RFS Recap

The Missouri Radiological Society Spring Meeting was held Saturday March 9th. Here are some brief updates and opportunities!

New MORads RFS Leadership were announced at the Spring Meeting, with transition to occur following the ACR Annual meeting later this month:

President: Mitchell Lynn, R2, UMKC

Vice President (President-Elect): Lakshmi Priya, R1, UMKC

Secretary-Treasurer: Utkarsh Parwal, R3, MIR

Member-at-large: Cody Thornburg, R4, Mizzou

Member-at-large: Chelsea Schmitt, R3, MIR

The 76th Carmen lecture was given by Dr. Andrew Moriarty titled “Scoping Radiology Practice Changes”.  He covered a broad range of pressing topics related to growing imaging volumes, workforce shortage and nonphysician practitioner roles/scope in radiology. He discussed trends in Medicare reimbursement, with reimbursement not keeping pace with inflation, due in large part to restrictions from budget neutrality. For further reading check out Dr. Moriarty’s ACR Bulletin article “How Does Inflation Impact the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule?” Dr. Moriarty discussed trends toward corporatization of medicine, referencing this JACR 2020 article Early-Career Radiologists’ Perceptions of National Corporations in Radiology. He spoke about changes in workforce composition seen in private equity-acquired practices with increased percentage of nonphysician practitioner utilization. Take a look at this JACR 2022 article he referenced about characteristics of practices employing NPs and PAs. He also touched on the contribution of nonphysician practitioners to growing imaging volumes, citing a 2022 study published in JAMA which showed an increase in ED imaging utilization by nonphysician practitioners. He highlighted some great infographics put together by the Michigan Radiological Society to help elucidate the differences in training between radiologists and NPs/chiropractors, check them out here. Overall, Dr. Moriarty’s Carmen lecture gave an overview of some of the biggest challenges currently facing radiology, and sparked some discussions that will surely be continued through the upcoming ACR annual meeting and beyond.

MORads is preparing for the upcoming ACR annual meeting on April 13-17th in Washington, D.C. This year, 4 residents and 2 medical students from Missouri programs will have the opportunity to attend with the assistance of funding provided by MORads. Check out the great programming lineup here, and consider planning to attend ACR 2025.

Congressional appointments are already set to meet with Senators Eric Schmitt and Josh Hawley at Capitol Hill Day on April 17th. Topics to be discussed this year include propose changes to the language of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA) regarding utilization of appropriate use criteria, multiple requests regarding the physician workforce crisis and continued discussions regarding long term Medicare payment reform. Much more info is available here.

A quick reminder that the Missouri State Medical Association also works throughout the year on legislative issues that affect the health of Missourians and the profession of medicine in our state, including issues impacting the field of radiology. Consider joining here.

Please check out radiologyadvocacy.org to get involved with the Radiology Advocacy Network (RAN). The RAN Calls to Action provide you with pre-written emails directed to your senators/representatives when time-sensitive legislative issues arise that impact our patients and our profession. Also, consider donating to RADPAC to help fund these advocacy efforts.

Eight trainee members attended this year’s spring meeting. Dr. Alireza Zandifar an R1 resident from UMKC gave a recap of his experience at the RLI Summit 2023. MORads will be sponsoring 2 residents to attend this year’s RLI Summit Sept. 5-8 2024 in Boston, MA. This is an opportunity to learn from experts and grow your network during an immersive weekend with a focus on the workforce challenges that we face with the continued rise in demand for imaging. Links to the application were distributed to residents through program coordinators, please reach out if you need a new copy of the link. Application is due April 10.

Funding opportunities are available for additional RLI programs including the Kickstart Your Career WorkshopWednesday Oct. 23 6-8pm. This combination of pre-recorded lectures and live interactive webinar are focused on topics to help your transition from training to practice. The Leadership Essentials course is a more longitudinal program covering many aspects of radiology business and leadership with pre-recorded lectures followed by 4 virtual interactive Q&A sessions September-December 2024. See the RLI Resident and Fellow Training website for additional details and opportunities.

That’s a wrap for the MORads RFS Spring Meeting Recap!

All the best,

Chelsea, Mitchell and Cody

MORads RFS Executive Board

David Pohl, MD, FACR Inaugurated as 166th President of MSMA

Congratulations to MORADS member David Pohl, MD, FACR who was inaugurated as the 166th MSMA President on April 6, 2024.  His goals for his year as President of the MSMA are to expand and increase the active participation of the membership; preserve and protect the importance of the physician-patient relationship; and help prepare the MSMA as we grow into the future.  We wish him the best of luck.

Andrew Moriarity to Deliver 76th Carman Lecture

Andrew Moriarity, MD is a board certified diagnostic radiologist specializing in abdominal and oncologic imaging. He is the Vice President of Clinical Operations and the chair of the Quality committee at Advanced Radiology Services PC in Grand Rapids, MI and is an Assistant Professor at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine serving as the director of Quality and Safety. He is an elected member of the ACR Council Steering Committee, the immediate past YPS member on the ACR Board of Chancellors, the ACR alternate advisor to the AMA Relative Value Scale Update Committee and a member of the Michigan Radiological Society Board of Trustees. He is a past member of the Neiman Health Policy Institute Advisory Board.
He has worked extensively on local and national payment policy as a member of the ACR Economics Commission and participated in the development of the ACR strategic plan.

MORADS Fall Meeting Recap by RFS Section

The RFS section of Missouri Radiological Society has written a recap of our fall meeting September 30, 2023.  We hope you enjoy it!

ACR Wrap Up by MORADS RFS Section

The RFS section of Missouri Radiological Society has written a summary of the 2023 ACR annual meeting.  We hope you enjoy it!

MORADS Fall Legal Presentation

Download the legal presentation, missouri-radiological-society-meeting-9.30.23, presented by MORADS attorney, Harvey Tettlebaum, at our fall meeting September 30, 2023.

Stroke Care Lecture Series in St Louis 10/28/23

What: This course is Brain Attack! 2023 Comprehensive Community Stroke Care.

When: 10/28/23 7:30am-3:45pm

Who: This course is planned and designed inter-professionally, by and for physicians and nurses who specialize in emergency medicine, neurology, neurosurgery, primary care, internal medicine, neuroscience. This activity may also be of interest to pharmacists, EMS providers, hospital administrators and other health professionals who want to enhance their knowledge of the management of patients with cerebrovascular diseases.

For more information and to register visit here.

MORADS wins our Division of the RADPAC March Chapter Challenge!

Breast Radiology Bill Passes

News from MSMA:

Senate Bill 106 passed.   This bill prohibits certain mammography facilities from requiring a referral from a primary care physician for a preventative screening that is within the recommendations of the American College of Radiology.  It also prohibits certain cost-sharing requirements for certain mammography screenings.