Management

This page includes content on healthcare management, including health system, hospital, department and clinic business management and administration. Areas of focus are on cardiology and radiology department business administration. Subcategories covered in this section include healthcare economics, reimbursement, leadership, mergers and acquisitions, policy and regulations, practice management, quality, staffing, and supply chain.

National IT Coordinator Refutes Health Affairs Study on EHRs

The national coordinator for health information technology fired back against a study published this week in Health Affairs, which stated that electronic health records may actually lead to more diagnostic testing rather than less.

Primary Care Docs Largely Misunderstand Stats on Cancer Screening

Most primary care physicians misunderstand statistics about cancer screening, which could lead to increased testing with possibly harmful effects to patients, according to a new survey.

New Commission to Examine Physician Payment Reform

Former U.S. Senator Bill Frist will co-chair a new commission launched by The Society of General Internal Medicine this week to address issues related to physician reimbursement.

Lead Researcher in HIT Study Defends His Work

Since the publication of the study by McCormick, et al., in Health Affairs challenging the notion that healthcare IT (HIT) necessarily results in fewer studies being ordered, mainstream media healthcare blogs have been buzzing with discussion about the value of his research.

EHRs May Lead to More Rather Than Less Imaging

Electronic Health Records have largely been viewed as a critical way to reduce health care costs. The argument goes that when doctors have access to previous test results they are less likely to order additional or duplicative tests.

Researchers: Access to Tech, not Test Results, Drives Studies

Stop the presses, meaningful use advocates: a new study released in this month’s issue of Health Affairs challenges the notion that electronic access to a patient’s medical history necessarily results in fewer imaging studies being ordered.

Varian to Acquire InfiMed for $15M

The corporate consolidation beat marches on this week, as Varian Medical Systems scooped up digital radiography and fluoroscopy vendor InfiMed for $15 million plus “earnouts based on sales of InfiMed products achieved over the next 24 months,” according to a press release.

ACR Signs Near Majority of Congress to Repeal MPPR

The American College of Radiology has won over nearly a majority of Congressional Representatives for House Resolution 3269 that would repeal recent CMS cuts to multiple diagnostic imaging services.

Around the web

The patient, who was being cared for in the ICU, was not accompanied or monitored by nursing staff during his exam, despite being sedated.

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.