When radiologists Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston dropped off their wireless devices at the information-services department, it was a sign of the times. On a mission to verify proper encryption, IT gurus examined all manner of devices—hard drives, flash drives, tablets, and smartphones.

The thought of health IT leaders managing the mobility trend conjures up images of Heracles attempting to slay the multiheaded Hydra. Every time he cut off one head, two more grew in its place: Think iOS®, Android®, Symbian®, BlackBerry®, Windows®, and bada®, with Mango and other mobile platforms in the wings.

Immediate access to patient information is a powerful catalyst for improving the caliber of care in the radiology sector, as well as in other clinical disciplines. For OhioHealth (Columbus), enabling the mobile communications network to handle images represents the next step in enhancing physician collaboration and physician–patient communication,

One of health-care reform’s least controversial mandates was a requirement that hospitals improve their patient-satisfaction scores or take a reimbursement hit. In October 2012, CMS is set to begin withholding 1% of its payments to hospitals, putting the money (estimated at around $850 million for the first year) into a bonus pool that will be

The number-one reason cited by its radiologists for choosing a non-traditional practice setting is to align with a leading organization, according to a survey of its physicians by Radisphere, Westport, Connecticut. Running a close second and third were lifestyle/schedule flexibility and the backing of a professional support team, the poll reveals.

It was a small change with a big impact: On October 1, 2009, a provision of the 2009 Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System final rule amended how an entity is defined under the Stark self-referral law. Until then, a Stark entity had been defined as the person or organization that billed for a given service; the change expanded the

Radiology practices trying to recruit the most promising young talent—particularly those facing the retirement of multiple baby-boom–generation radiologists—will inevitably face decisions related to benefits planning. The most contentious of these might be the practice’s retirement-plan offering, as the recent vagaries of the stock market have

iCRco is an established imaging manufacturer and software developer that provides complete digital-imaging solutions. In business for nearly 20 years, the company houses research and development, software engineering, and technical support—as well as sales and marketing teams—under one roof at its headquarters in Torrance, California.