[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 116 (Wednesday, August 1, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1381-E1382]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    RECOGNIZING RADIOLOGISTS AND THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF RADIOLOGY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. PETE SESSIONS

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, August 1, 2012

  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the International Day 
of Radiology, and

[[Page E1382]]

draw attention to the important contribution that radiology, in 
particular diagnostic imaging, serves in the health care delivery 
system. International Day of Radiology is observed annually on November 
8th, an important date in the history of radiology. On that day in 
1895, Professor Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen discovered x-rays. Radiology 
will be celebrated by many groups including the American College of 
Radiology, the Radiological Society of North America, and the European 
Society of Radiology.
  Radiologists (physicians with special training in the use of imaging 
including x-rays), Radiation Oncologists (physicians trained to treat 
cancers with radiation alone or in combination with surgery and/or 
chemotherapy), and the medical imaging community have made significant 
contributions to modern medicine, providing powerful tools for clinical 
diagnosis, decision making, and treatment of disease. Over the last 30 
years, medical imaging tools have been among the most sophisticated and 
cutting-edge technologies developed for patient care. During that span 
we have seen consistent decreases in cancer mortality rates with 
corresponding increases in American life expectancy.
  The U.S. National Academy of Engineering recognized the tremendous 
contribution of medical imaging exams when it ranked imaging among the 
20 greatest engineering achievements of the twentieth century. 
Practicing physicians surveyed in a 2001 Health Affairs study ranked 
Computed Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) number 
one among the top 30 recent medical innovations. Perhaps most telling, 
the New England Journal of Medicine named medical imaging one of the 
top 10 medical advances of the last 1,000 years.
  A 2009 National Bureau of Economic Research study found that 
individuals with greater access to imaging scans live longer. 
Diagnostic imaging services have enabled patients to avoid several 
types of expensive and invasive procedures. Imaging scans cost less 
than surgeries and reduce the number of unnecessary hospital admissions 
and length of hospital stays. As such, medical imaging serves an 
important role in containing the cost of health care in the United 
States.
  With its impact on patients' health, I'm pleased to recognize the 
importance of diagnostic imaging and radiation oncology, and call 
attention to November 8th as the International Day of Radiology.

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