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SDMS Sound NewsTM
 Volume 6, Issue 12
December 31, 2004

 ISSN 1543-0448

 
  In This Issue...

This issue of SDMS Sound News is sponsored by GE Healthcare, a PLATINUM sponsor of SDMS.
GE Healthcare is the leading global pharmaceutical provider of diagnostic imaging products. GE Healthcare is dedicated to providing healthcare professionals with products that expand and improve their diagnostic capabilities and contribute to the treatment of disease. With a focus in cardiovascular imaging, GE Healthcare markets Optison (Perflutren Protein-Type A Microspheres for Injection, USP) for use in echocardiography.

SDMS Sound News is a way of sharing important or time-sensitive news with our members. It supplements our print newsletter, News Wave, and provides links to new information and services available on the SDMS web site. SDMS Sound News is published monthly. An archive of past issues is available at http://www.sdms.org/lists/soundnewsarchive.asp 		 
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  1. Nation's Largest Insurer to Adopt ACR Criteria, Accreditation

The American College of Radiology has gained a big supporter in its efforts to influence the practice of medicine in the U.S. For the first time, a major insurer is planning to adopt and promote both the ACR's accreditation programs and its imaging selection criteria.

UnitedHealthcare of Minneapolis, currently the nation's largest health insurer covering more than 20 million individuals across the U.S., has already begun pilot-testing its initiatives in what will likely be a multiyear, escalating phase-in.

For example, the company has just sent questionnaires to imaging providers in North Carolina, Colorado, and Texas, to determine their ACR-accreditation status. The ACR-accredited facilities will then be singled out for their "Excellence in Radiology" in future UnitedHealthcare provider directories.

While no providers will be dropped for failing to achieve ACR accreditation, UnitedHealthcare expects to drive more referrals and patients to accredited facilities.

For the complete article, go to
http://www.auntminnie.com/index.asp?Sec=sup&Sub=imc&Pag=dis&ItemId=64322

 
  2. 2005 Awards and Competitions Guidelines and Application

Each year, SDMS and the SDMS Educational Foundation recognize outstanding achievement in ultrasound. The guidelines and application are now available for the following competitions and awards:

  • Scientific Presentation Competition
  • Sonographer Poster Exhibit Competition
  • Student Sonographer Poster Exhibit Competition
  • W. Frederick Sample Award
  • Joan P. Baker Pioneer Award
  • Distinguished Educator Award
  • Philips Medical System Echocardiography Award
  • Bracco Diagnostics, Inc. Research Award
  • Bristol-Myers Squibb, Medical Imaging, Inc. Contrast Imaging Award
  • GE Medical Systems - Excellence in Sonography Award
  • Graduate Research Award, Medison 3D Sonography Award
  • Don Milburn Service Award

For the complete guidelines and application, go to http://www.sdms.org/pdf/awards.pdf

 
  3. SDMS Educational Foundation Donations Update

Each year the SDMS Educational Foundation conducts a number of fundraising events to raise money to fund next year's programs. We are very happy to report that for the sixth consecutive year, SDMS members have stepped up to the plate and responded with increased annual donations. Thus far in 2004, we have received contributions from members totaling over $15,000!

One hundred percent (100%) of the money from the 2004 donations is distributed to students and sonographers. Contributions will be used in 2005 to provide scholarships to sonography students attending CAAHEP accredited programs in the US and CMA approved programs in Canada, and to provide grants for sonographers requiring continuing medical education (CME). We often get letters telling us that their scholarship or grant was just what was needed to provide the extra financial help they needed to complete their program or get CMEs to maintain their certification. Unfortunately, for every scholarship and grant awarded, two are rejected because of lack of funds. In 2005, the Foundation would like to double the number of students who receive scholarships! We would also like to insure that any sonographer requesting a grant will get one. Sonography faces severe manpower shortages now. Why should the lack of financial assistance play a role in those shortages?

Please take a moment now to send in your donation to the SDMS Educational Foundation. Foundation programs are funded entirely through your contributions and every dollar is used for the sonography community. For your convenience, you may contribute using your credit card at https://secure.sdms.org/foundation/donateonlineform.asp.

Don't forget, any donation made by December 31, 2004, can be deducted from your 2004 income tax as a charitable contribution.

If you would like more information about the Foundation and its programs, please visit http://www.sdms.org/foundation/default.asp

 
  4. Call for Judges for the SDMS 2005 Awards Program

The SDMS Awards Committee is looking for qualified individuals to serve as judges for this year’s Awards Program. SDMS Awards and Competitions consist of the Scientific Presentation Competition, the Sonographer and Student Sonographer Poster Exhibit Competition, and the W. Frederick Sample Student Excellence Award.

Answer the call to serve as a judge for this important program!
Please go to http://www.sdms.org/pdf/call4judges.pdf

 
  5. SDMS 2006 Annual Conference Course and Faculty Proposals Needed
The SDMS Conference Management Committee (CMC) will begin planning the 2006 Annual Conference shortly after the conclusion of the 2005 Conference in Dallas, Texas. To assist the CMC in its continuing efforts to provide a conference that meets your needs and exceeds your expectations, you are encouraged to submit course and faculty proposals for the 2006 Annual Conference in Denver, Colorado. All proposals will be considered by the CMC during the 2006 Annual Conference planning meetings.

PROPOSALS DUE BY SEPTEMBER 2, 2005
For requirements and instructions for submitting proposals, please visit http://www.sdms.org/pdf/call4courses.pdf

 
  6. Ultrasound Beats CT as Second Choice for Pediatric Chest Disorders

Children can be scanned in their parents' arms, reducing anxiety and improving cooperation.

There is more evidence for the use of ultrasound instead of CT, with its dangers of ionizing radiation, for chest disorders in children. For many cases in which plain film is insufficient, ultrasound can be the second modality of choice instead of CT, according to research from the Rambam Medical Center in Israel.

The study involved 96 children, and found that ultrasound can do better than CT for certain chest disorders. In one case, plain film and CT could not differentiate normal thymic tissue from pathological tissue while ultrasound could.

In another instance, the follow-up CT scan of a 6-year-old lymphoma patient treated successfully with chemotherapy revealed a new mass in the upper mediastinum. However, ultrasound confirmed it was a normal thymus with no residual disease.

"Ultrasound is an important adjunct to plain film and CT in the evaluation of mediastinal masses, and can be used to guide biopsy of tumors," said Dr. Michalle Soudack, one of the study authors.

To read the complete article, go to http://www.ardms.org/newswire/12132004/12132004.htm#ultrasound

 
  7. SDMS Bylaws Committee Proposes Revisions
The SDMS Bylaws Committee is charged with examining the existing Bylaws to identify needed changes. During the past year, the Bylaws Committee, chaired by Cheri Fisher, RT, RDMS, RVT, has been reviewing the existing Bylaws to identify and propose revisions.

All SDMS members have an opportunity to review and comment on the proposed changes prior to final Board consideration.

A summary of the proposed changes as well as the proposed revisions can be found at: http://www.sdms.org/members/bylaws

 
  8. SDMS Board Action Items

The SDMS Board of Directors voted to approve the following ‘action’ items at the fall Board meeting in New Orleans:

  • Acceptance of the operational budget for fiscal year 2005
  • Revisions to the Society’s ‘Financial Policies’ to clarify the objectives of the association’s operational and restricted reserve funds
  • Guidelines for investment of ‘Restricted Reserves’
  • Support for participation in the Health Occupation Student Association’s (HOSA) 2005 Leadership Conference
  • Adoption of a revised policy, ‘Non-Diagnostic Use of Ultrasound’: http://www.sdms.org/positions/nondiagnostic.asp
  • Policy rescission on ‘Videotaping of Obstetrical Sonograms’
  • Adoption of a revised Code of Ethics: http://www.sdms.org/about/codeofethics.asp
  • Rescission of the ‘Code of Professional Conduct’ due to the encompassing nature of the revised Code of Ethics
 		 
  9. Dallas DAZZLES!

SDMS Brands Dallas, Texas as the 2005 Annual Conference Host City
It takes a BIG city to hold all that the SDMS 2005 Annual Conference offers – and Dallas is just the place. Don’t miss your chance to be a part of the largest gathering of sonographers in the world! We’re still growing strong because:

  • Whether you need continuing education in Ob/Gyn, Abdomen, Cardiac, Vascular or all of the above – we’ve got it!
  • Whether you want physician or sonographer expert faculty – we’ve got it!
  • Whether you need SDMS CME or AMA Category 1 credit – we’ve got it!
  • Whether you want to quietly network with your colleagues or party the night away – we’ve got it!
  • Everything you want in a conference but can’t find anywhere else – we’ve got it!

Dallas DAZZLES! SDMS 2005 Annual Conference - Dallas, TX - Oct. 6-9, 2005
 		 
  10. News & Notes

The News & Notes column includes links to web-based news articles of interest to sonographers. To submit articles, send the URL to webmaster@sdms.org

  
  11. Important Dates
2005  
February 11 Joan P. Baker Pioneer Award nomination deadline
February 11 SDMS Distinguished Educator Award nomination deadline
February 11 SDMS Fellow nomination deadline
February 11 SDMS Board of Directors nomination deadline
March 31 SDMS Educational Foundation Scholarship deadline
April 16 SDMS Board of Directors Meeting, Dallas, Texas
June 30 SDMS Educational Foundation Research Awards deadline
July 31 SDMS Educational Foundation Scholarship deadline
July 31 SDMS Educational Foundation CME Grants deadline
Oct 1 - Oct 31 Medical Ultrasound Awareness Month
Oct 6 - 9 2005 SDMS Annual Conference, Dallas, Texas
Oct 10 - 11 SDMS Board of Directors Meeeting, Dallas, Texas
November 30 SDMS Educational Foundation Scholarship deadline
Dallas DAZZLES! SDMS 2005 Annual Conference - Dallas, TX - Oct. 6-9, 2005
 
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