It’s been half a year since RadAnalytics last heard from Scott Luchs, MD, president of Ramapo Radiology Associates in New York State’s Hudson Valley.

Some years back, already plenty old enough that I should have known better, I injured my right thumb playing pickup football. It hurt like a sonofagun, but I thought the pain had more to do with the detached thumbnail than the bone. 

Reston, Va. (April 1, 2015) – Radiology professionals can continue to use the American College of Radiology (ACR) National Radiology Data Registry (NRDR™) to meet quality reporting requirements under the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS). The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has renewed NRDR’s status as a Qualified Clinical Data Registry (QCDR).

Two independent radiology practices in New York’s Hudson Valley have finalized a plan, three years in the works, to form a joint venture and begin actively inviting other groups to climb aboard. 

While obtaining pricing information for a medical imaging exam like a non-contrast head CT may be difficult and time consuming, it's likely that exam is going to be more price transparent than other healthcare services, according to a study published online in the Journal of the American College of Radiology. 

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) has issued proposed rules for stage 3 Meaningful Use (MU) and the proposed 2015 edition EHR criteria under the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs.

With the endorsement of low-dose CT (LDCT) screening for lung cancer in high-risk individuals by the United States Preventive Services Task Force, as well as the decision by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to approve Medicare coverage of the test, it is clear that LDCT lung cancer screening will become widespread.

McKesson’s business performance services division has won the business of Elmhurst Radiologists, a 12-doc practice operating within 259-bed Elmhurst Memorial Hospital, part of the three-hospital Edward-Elmhurst system outside Chicago.