Business Intelligence

Providers utilize business intelligence to monitor referral patterns and collaborate with clinicians who order their services. Such analytics tools have also been deployed in the specialty to improve productivity, track patient satisfaction and bolster quality.

Itemized Reporting A Must For Radiologists

Image interpretation should remain a task solely for radiologists, who should utilize itemized reporting and standardized language to produce clear and unequivocal reports, according to results of two surveys published in the April edition of Radiology.

FDA Clears Hitachi CT System

Hitachi Medical Systems America yesterday announced that it has received FDA clearance to market its SCENARIA ™ 64-slice CT system in the U.S.

Self-Referral Bill Reintroduced In Congress

Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-CA) earlier this week reintroduced to the U.S. House of Representatives the Integrity in Medicare Advance Diagnostic Imaging Act of 2011 (HR 1476), which seeks to close the in-office ancillary service exception (IOASE) for advanced imaging services such as MR, CT and PET. Congressman Anthony Weiner (D-NY) was an

Obama, GOP Butt Heads Over Future Of Medicare

President Barack Obama yesterday outlined his plan for reducing the federal deficit and cutting Medicare costs, noting that unlike the GOP plan, his would "use a scalpel, not the machete.”

Brain Shrinkage A 10-Year Precursor To Alzheimer’s

Early brain scans may offer a new way to detect Alzheimer’s in patients nearly a decade prior to its diagnosis, an advance that might aid in the development of effective treatments for the disease.

Microsoft Executes HealthVault Upgrade

Microsoft Health Solutions Group today announced the upgrade of its HealthVault Connection Center to support the inclusion of images in online health records maintained by Microsoft HealthVault account-holders.

MedPAC Recommends Prior Authorization For Advanced Imaging

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) on April 7 passed a recommendation that Medicare require clinicians who order more imaging studies than their peers obtain prior authorization for advanced imaging.

HHS Names Mostashari National Health IT Coordinator

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Friday named public health informatics specialist Farzad Mostashari, MD, ScM, to replace David Blumenthal, MD as national coordinator for health IT, effective immediately.

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.