Introduction to the Pediatric Radiology Research Forum

Excerpt

There are countless reasons why pediatric radiologists should support and be involved in medical research: improving imaging technology, better disease detection, standardization of best imaging pathways, efficiency and cost reduction, improved safety – to name a few – and all for children. But how many of our colleagues are actively involved in research? How many know how to do it? Governments, insurers, hospitals and health care systems are looking for ways to reduce health care costs and are putting greater demands on our clinical time. That squeeze can reduce precious time available for research. And what is happening to research funding? It is easy to defer the funding of research while prioritizing today’s financial crisis – something the U.S. government did by reducing National Institutes of Health funding with the sequester of 2013. Finding money to support research has become more and more challenging both in the U.S. and in Europe. We are students of science and recognize how essential today’s research is to improve tomorrow’s clinical care. …