African American/Black individuals have a disproportionate cancer burden, including the highest mortality and the lowest survival of any racial/ethnic group for most cancers. Every 3 years, the American Cancer Society estimates the number of new cancer cases and deaths for Black people in the United States and compiles the most recent data on cancer incidence (herein through 2018), mortality (through 2019), survival, screening, and risk factors using population-based data from the National Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2022, there will be approximately 224,080 new cancer cases and 73,680 cancer deaths among Black people in the United States. During the most recent 5-year period, Black men had a 6% higher incidence rate but 19% higher ...

The Importance of Partnership Management in FQHCs   Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) play a crucial role in providing access to healthcare for underserved communities. However, the challenges facing FQHCs are significant and multifaceted, including financial constraints, workforce shortages, and increased demand for services. One effective strategy for addressing these challenges is through the development of formal partnerships with other organizations. This guide will provide a detailed overview of the key legal ideas and concepts involved in developing a partnership management process for FQHCs, with a focus on achieving specific, goal-oriented results.   The Legal Framework for FQHC Partnerships   The legal framework for FQHC partnerships is complex, and it is essential to have a thorough understanding of the various ...

It is no surprise that the smart crew at MIT and Mass General have shown that they can predict lung cancer from a single CT scan. It will be a while before this is standard of care, however, this method, or blood tests, or breath tests, will be very helpful in the quest to get the right patient screened at the right time, including others with increased risk of lung cancer, including patients without a history of smoking.  Researchers at Mass General Cancer Center and Massachusetts Institute of Technology created a tool known as Sybil. "Based on analyses of LDCT scans from patients in the U.S. and Taiwan, Sybil accurately predicted the risk of lung cancer for individuals with or without a significant ...

Federally Qualified Healthcare Centers (FQHCs) play a crucial role in the healthcare delivery system of the United States. According to NACHC, they serve around 30 million people, or 1 in 11 Americans, through their 1,400 centers, nearly 16,000 healthcare service sites, and 126 additional look-alike centers. Despite their importance, there is limited information available on these centers, their leaders, and the trends affecting them. Recent interviews of FQHC CEOs by Oatmeal Health have highlighted some of the unique challenges faced by these organizations in terms of leadership, competition, and financial sustainability. The interviews found that community health centers must adopt a business mindset in order to stay open and continue serving their communities.   To help FQHCs sustain their organizations ...

Physicians are not “burning out”. Physicians are being “driven out.” Call this crisis what it is… Abuse. Try telling an emotionally abused spouse that they need “mindfulness training”. You’ll get a mouthful of mindful. Offer deep breathing classes to treat your toxic workplace. Employees will hold their breath to leave. Abuse cannot be treated with yoga. The 400 physician suicides each year are not from weakness within physicians. The brightest and best are being poisoned by an “industry” that abuses them. Calling this crisis “Burnout” is only a convenient way for the “industry” to deny its role in the destruction of a noble profession. “Healthcare does not need to change, it’s these physicians that need to change,” says the Chief ...

For my non-radiology colleagues, which nodule is which is worrisome? A or B? Lung cancer found early, 10mm or less, improves long-term survival, per Dr. Henschke's most recent study. “What we present here is the 20-year follow-up on participants in our screening program that were diagnosed with lung cancer and subsequently treated,” Dr. Claudia Henschke of Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai “The key finding is that even after this long a time interval they are not dying of their lung cancer.” The study found that the 20-year survival rate was 80% for the 1,285 I-ELCAP participants who were diagnosed with early-stage lung cancer. The survival rate for both the 139 participants with nonsolid cancerous lung nodules and the ...

The History of AI: The history of AI in healthcare dates back to the 1950s when researchers began exploring the use of computers to diagnose medical conditions. In the decades that followed, AI technologies such as machine learning and natural language processing were developed, and these technologies have been applied to a variety of healthcare tasks, including radiology. 1940-1960: Birth of AI in the wake of cybernetics 1980-1990: Expert systems Since 2010: a new bloom based on massive data and new computing power Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to revolutionize the healthcare industry. By automating certain tasks and providing doctors with more accurate and timely information, AI can help improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs. However, despite its potential ...