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.

Canon Celebrates Grand Opening of New Americas Headquarters

Canon U.S.A. Inc. invited notable elected officials, including Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), to tour its new 700,000-square-foot headquarters in Melville, NY, at the grand opening ceremony

House Subcommittee Approves Permanent SGR Fix

The draft bill to permanently repeal the now 15-year-old Medicare sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula was approved by a voice vote by the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee and will now be considered by the full Committee

North Carolina Passes Breast Density Law

Governor Pat McCrory has HB 467, the Breast Density Notification & Awareness bill, into law making North Carolina the 12th state requiring mammography providers to inform patients about their breast density. It also makes a correction to a statute involving the cancer registry

ASRT Survey: Techs Wages Up 1.7% Since 2010

The American Society of Radiologic Technologists (ASRT) Wage and Salary Survey indicates that the average salaries of radiologic technologists rose by 1.7 percent in the past three years and now average $62,763

Texas Radiology Associates Contracts With Local Blue Cross Blue Shield

Texas Radiology Associates LLP, of Plano will be able to better serve more patients starting next year thanks to its new contract with health insurer Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas

Former Toshiba Exec to Lead Samsung Health and Medical Equipment Unit

Samsung Electronics America Inc. has appointed Doug Ryan, the former vice president of marketing and strategic development at Toshiba America Medical Systems, as its Group Vice President for Health and Medical Equipment

Merger to Form NY 7-Hospital Mega Network

The Boards of Trustees of the Mount Sinai Medical Center and Continuum Health Partners have voted unanimously to approve joining their institutions into a combined entity that will encompass seven major hospital campuses in the New York metropolitan area

Nine of 33 Pioneer ACOs Exit; Seven Will Migrate to MSSP

While quality and cost data improved overall for the 33 Pioneer ACOs in their first year of operation, CMS announced that nine of them intend to exit the Pioneer ACO program. Two of the nine will leave the program entirely and seven will migrate to the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP), which does not require the initial assumption of risk. None of the nine produced shared savings.

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.