Policy & Regulations

This channel includes news coverage of healthcare policy and regulations set by Congress, the states, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and medical associations and societies. 

Concussion expert wants boxing banned, says punt returns should be removed from football

A leading concussion expert wants boxing to be banned altogether due to the significant damage boxers do to one another. And while he doesn’t want football to go anywhere, he thinks players would be much safer if punt returns were removed from the game.

Hong Kong officials consider universal breast cancer screening

Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, Hong Kong’s first female chief executive, has said government officials are currently considering a population-wide mammography program.

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Does radiology’s dress code need a bit more creativity?

It might be time for radiologists to start thinking a bit outside the box when it comes to what they wear to work, according to an entertaining column published in the Journal of the American College of Radiology.

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Do age-based breast cancer screening guidelines put nonwhite female patients at risk?

Age-based breast cancer screening guidelines that do not consider the patient’s race could result in underscreening of nonwhite female patients, according to a new study published in JAMA Surgery.

AMIC applauds Anthem’s decision not to move forward with modifier 25 payment reduction

The Access to Medical Imaging Coalition (AMIC) announced Tuesday, March 6, that its members applaud Anthem for not moving forward with its decision to reduce payments for evaluation and management services billed with modifier 25 by 50 percent.

Radiologists care for some of the country’s sickest, most complex patients

Radiologists—especially those working at teaching hospitals—see some of the country’s most clinically complex Medicare patients, according to a report published in the February edition of Academic Radiology.

Radiologist who treated Parkland victims: Not all bullet wounds are the same

“With an AR-15, the shooter does not have to be particularly accurate. The victim does not have to be unlucky," wrote Florida-based radiologist Heather Sher.

AMIC 'strongly opposes' federal push to expand site-neutral payment policies

The Access to Medical Imaging Coalition (AMIC) announced Wednesday, Feb. 21, its opposition to President Donald Trump’s fiscal 2019 budget provision aimed at expanding site-neutral payment policies, according to a release. The move would reduce Medicare payments for imaging services performed in certain hospital and outpatient settings.

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.