Health IT

Healthcare information (HIT) systems are designed to connect all the elements together for patient data, reports, medical imaging, billing, electronic medical record (EMR), hospital information system (HIS), PACS, cardiology information systems (CVIS)enterprise image systemsartificial intelligence (AI) applications, analytics, patient monitors, remote monitoring systems, inventory management, the hospital internet of things (IOT), cloud or onsite archive/storage, and cybersecurity.

OIC Deployment: Buy, Build, Sell, or Hold?

Tight credit markets may have lengthened timelines, but hospital systems across the United States continue to move aggressively into their communities to fulfill outpatient imaging strategies. The consulting group Sg2 (Chicago, Illinois) predicts 19% growth in outpatient imaging in the 10-year span between 2008 and 2018, representing 90% of total

MSDRGs: Pitfalls and Opportunities

Ernest Glad, president of Cortell Health, Dallas, Texas, sees the 2007 CMS restructuring of the DRGs used in the inpatient prospective-payment system as an opportunity that many hospitals are currently squandering. The restructuring adjusts DRG weights based on the severity of a patient’s condition to improve the system’s ability to account for the

Accessing Capital in a Tight Credit Market

After weathering last fall’s fiscal catastrophe, many hospital CFOs now find themselves in Bert Zimmerli’s position. Though Zimmerli is senior vice president and CFO of the only health care system in the country to receive the highest credit rating from both Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services and Moody’s Investors Service, he says that the

The Evolving Radiologist-hospital Relationship

It was the contract termination heard ‘round the world when Florida Radiology Associates (FRA) ended its 40-year relationship with Florida Hospital last year. Negotiation of a new contract barely got off the ground before the hospital formed its own in-house radiology group, poaching the majority of FRA’s staff. The incident raised eyebrows in the

PACS Nirvana: University Radiology's Reporting-driven Workflow

Sponsored by FUJIFILM Healthcare Americas

Ever since digital imaging liberated radiologists from the site of image acquisition, radiology practices have labored to patch together distributed reading solutions that would efficiently meet the needs of multiple clients, balance workflow, and enable subspecialization.

Can Health Informatics Reduce Health Care Costs?

Sponsored by FUJIFILM Healthcare Americas

The answer to that question may appear obvious to imaging informatics professionals, but a study released earlier this year by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) disputed the ability of health informatics to reduce health care cost. Now, all of us in radiology have seen the ability of informatics to reduce imaging costs within the radiology

Say Aloha to Your PACS: The Selection Process

When Hawaii Health Systems Corp (HHSC), Honolulu, began shopping for a PACS solution for three of its five island regions, newly hired CIO Money Atwal had a few unique issues to take into consideration. Though multisite PACS configurations are increasingly commonplace, most don’t have to cross water in order to work. Atwal needed a solution that

In the Navy: The DoD and the Future of PACS

Sponsored by FUJIFILM Healthcare Americas

The US Navy deployed its first PACS—a military-specified system with limited functionality—in 1996. Since then, the Navy has operated multiple PACS from a variety of vendors, all selected through a contracting process monitored by the US Department of Defense (DoD). “Our purchasing process enables us always to select the best of breed,” Edwin Doorn

Around the web

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.

The all-in-one Omni Legend PET/CT scanner is now being manufactured in a new production facility in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

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