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. 

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MedData’s CEO Barnes: ICD-10 will be a big-data journey

Sponsored by vRad

Radiographs of the ankle, hip and knee getting coded as mammograms; a popular code-assist product failing right out of the gate and remaining troublesome months later; small billing companies shuttering their offices, leaving physician practices without any billing services at all. These are some of the scenarios reported in the wake of the Oct. 1, 2015, launch of the 10th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10).

Canadian task force updates colorectal cancer screening recommendations

The Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care (CTFPHC) released its colorectal cancer screening recommendations this week, stating that colonoscopy should not be used as a screening test. 

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Mounting an informed, intelligent transition to ICD-10

Sponsored by vRad

Countless healthcare providers of every type heaved a sigh of relief when CMS announced a one-year grace period following the Oct. 1, 2015, launch of ICD-10.

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Frank Lexa, MD, MBA: 5 steps to successful change management

Sponsored by vRad

How do you lead change—even when you’re not in charge? The answer to that question is both simpler and subtler than one might think, and it’s readily applicable to radiologists, radiology business managers, radiology technologists and everyone else within the sphere of medical imaging.

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Meaningful Use for Radiologists: Should We or Shouldn’t We?

Five years after the program rolled out, radiologists weigh the pros and cons of attesting to meaningful use of health IT

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Acceptance and exceptions: 4 things radiologists should know about self-referred patients

It’s becoming more and more common in the U.S. for patients to seek help from radiologists without a physician referral. What should radiologists know before accepting any “self-referred” patients? 

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Is it time to take the tackling out of youth football?

A recent editorial from Kathleen E. Bachynski, MPH, for the New England Journal of Medicine examined how the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has responded to the issue of injuries in youth and high school football. 

AMIC takes aim at prior authorization provisions in 2017 federal budget

Prior authorization provisions in President Obama’s proposed 2017 federal budget would hinder the decision making of doctors and limit access to imaging for patients, according to a statement released today by The Access to Medical Imaging Coalition (AMIC).

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.