Often healthcare services in the U.S. are overutilized, which can lead to high healthcare spending. Expanding guidelines and establishing appropriate use criteria for more healthcare services could help eliminate this overuse and in turn reduce high healthcare spending, according to an editorial published in the Jan. 24 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

CHICAGO—Burton P. Drayer, MD, president of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), met with Health Imaging prior to the RSNA annual conference to discuss the shifting paradigm for radiologists in clinical practice, and how they can better prove their worth in today’s clinical practice.

More than half of the members on panels that produced national guidelines for screening or treating diabetes and hyperlipidemia in the U.S. and Canada had a financial conflict of interest, according to an analysis published Oct. 11 in the British Medical Journal. Among 73 panel members who reported no conflicts, 11 percent were found to have one or more conflict of interests, the researchers reported.

Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have analyzed the Top 5 overused clinical activities for primary care physicians and found that $6.7 billion was spent in one year performing unnecessary tests or prescribing unnecessary medications in primary care. Although imaging dominated the Top 5 list, the recommendations published online Oct. 1 in the Archives of Internal Medicine focused on curbing brand name statin prescriptions, which accounted for 86 percent of the cost.

Dalcetrapib (Roche) modulates cholesteryl ester transfer protein activity; however, the dal-PLAQUE study published online Sept. 12 in the Lancet, showed no evidence of a pathological effect related to the arterial wall over 24 months duration. While the trial found that dalcetrapib may have long standing vascular effects, including a reduction in vessel enlargement over 24 months, researchers said that more data are necessary to understand the long-term safety of the molecule.

Combining two imaging agents with dual isotope SPECT/CT provides diabetic patients an excellent infection screening method that has already spared a number of patients from aggressive amputation of infected feet, according to an ongoing study presented at SNM's 58th annual meeting in San Antonio, Texas.