In late November, some 50,000 representatives from the medical imaging industry will once again gather at McCormick Place in Chicago for RSNA 2018. Vendors will share their latest and greatest solutions, attendees will take part in fascinating sessions and the convention center will burst with enthusiasm, energy and excitement.

Hospitals across the United States spent approximately $25.4 billion more than necessary this year on supply chain operations, according to a new report from Chicago-based Navigant Consulting. That number is up more than 10 percent compared to 2017.

Nonradiologists are performing more diagnostic and interventional imaging examinations now than ever before. In fact, according to a new study published in Current Problems in Diagnostic Radiology, reimbursements for those services make up a significant proportion of overall Medicare payments for many highly-reimbursed physicians from a variety of specialties.

The University of Missouri Research Reactor (MURR) in Columbia has announced it is the first domestic supplier of Iodine-131 (I-131), a radioisotope used to diagnose and treat thyroid cancer and hyperthyroidism, in the last 30 years.

The rise of high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) has led to patients worrying more about the high prices associated with imaging services than ever before. According to a new study published in the Journal of the American College of Radiology, this often exposes those patients to inaccurate information.

Less-than-large radiology practices can survive the consolidation era. The trick is finding a sweet spot in which the economies of scale needed to compete meld with the hospital/practice alignment that is the lifeblood of independent practice.