The Big Picture 2015

With the release of the ONC Roadmap on Interoperability last week, as well as the announcement from the HHS Secretary, Sylvia Burwell, on the department’s vision for an accelerated shift to value-based reimbursement, it seems like healthcare leadership in the U.S. is on a focused, and coordinated path toward continued healthcare transformation in 2015 and beyond.

What does this mean for radiology practices in 2015? Surely radiologists should stay on track preparing to meet milestones such as ICD-10 implementation in October, which ultimately means increasing the level of clinical documentation and perhaps standard reporting practices used in radiology practices. Additionally, as healthcare moves toward a more interoperable landscape, the importance of data collection and analysis will continue to rise, the ultimate goal being to identify means and opportunities to provide quality care at the right time and at an affordable cost to both the patient as well as the provider. 

Thought for the day: "The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new."  ~Socrates

Around the web

The patient, who was being cared for in the ICU, was not accompanied or monitored by nursing staff during his exam, despite being sedated.

The nuclear imaging isotope shortage of molybdenum-99 may be over now that the sidelined reactor is restarting. ASNC's president says PET and new SPECT technologies helped cardiac imaging labs better weather the storm.

CMS has more than doubled the CCTA payment rate from $175 to $357.13. The move, expected to have a significant impact on the utilization of cardiac CT, received immediate praise from imaging specialists.