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. 

Down Under, imaging referrers respond to government-issued overutilization notices

Upon receiving a just-the-facts letter from a federal health official, Australia’s most frequent referrers for musculoskeletal imaging significantly curbed their inclination to place these orders over the next 12 months.

Breast cancer screening a bellwether service in radiology’s drive to bridge the ‘digital divide’

Mammography practices need to continue supporting pre-Digital Age channels for patients to schedule appointments, participate in community health programs and receive annual screening exams in mobile settings close to where they live. 

4 physicians ask 4 pointed questions about shared decision-making

Question 1. Is the CMS policy that requires documenting shared decision-making for lung cancer screening even working?

money maze payment reimbursement

ASTRO: ‘We hope this official delay provides an opportunity for CMS to … work more closely with the radiation oncology community’

Last week CMS dug in with its decision to put off finalizing an alternative value-based payment model for radiation oncology services to “a date to be determined through future rulemaking.”

Pediatric radiologists skillfully read emergency breast ultrasound—but patients may shrug off discharge instructions

For this reason, these patients may need pointed guidance upon ED discharge lest cancers go undetected in early stages.  

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Emergency trunk CT rises sharply even for minor, moderate trauma

Almost 10 of every 1,000 patients evaluated for trauma injuries in 2018 received CT scans of the chest, abdomen and pelvis to supply a diagnostic view of, in essence, the entire torso.

Dyad Medical Echo:Prio FDA

Regulatory Roundup: FDA approves new-look self-expanding stent, clears 2 advanced AI models

The FDA has had a busy month, overseeing the recall of nearly 88,000 implantable cardiac devices, juggling the continued rise of monkeypox cases in the United States and maintaining an active Breakthrough Devices program. This rundown covers some of the agency's biggest moves during that time. 

ACR, other groups cry foul over insurers’ methods for calculating out-of-network payments

Payers have been using rates agreed to by PCPs to justify underpaying specialists such as anesthesiologists, emergency physicians and, yes, radiologists.

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.