Today every forward-thinking radiology practice realizes that, in these times of falling reimbursement, rising regulatory oversight and cascading calls for transparency, it’s not enough to be great at what you do.

Health care prices in January 2015 were just 1.2% higher than January 2014—much lower than the December 2014 year-over-year change of 1.8%, according to a report from Altarum Institute’s Center for Sustainable Health Spending. 

Physician practices are increasingly affiliating or merging with other practices or aligning or getting acquired by hospitals in order to better support the investments needed to successfully implement alternative payment models, according to a new RAND report released Thursday. 

The U.S. healthcare system stands to save $8 billion a year just by going electronic with six routine business transactions. But realizing the thrift will take an ongoing commitment by all healthcare stakeholders—providers, payers, vendors and government. 

Deal activity in the health services sector started out strong in 2014 and finished on an even stronger note, with total deal volume up 16.3% in 2014 compared to 2013, according to a report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

Older adults who underwent spine imaging within six weeks of a primary care visit for back pain had outcomes over the following year that were no different than other patients who had no imaging, according to a study in the March 17 issue of JAMA.

Any legislation to reform the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula should include a change in the physician fee schedule, according to an article in the journal Health Affairs.

Doctors ordering exams on patients who show signs of heart disease really can’t go wrong if they choose high-tech computed tomographic angiography (CTA) over time-honored stress testing.