Looking ahead to the new year

Happy new year! I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday season as much as I did. Now that it’s officially 2016, I look forward to seeing what the year ahead will bring. And when big news breaks in the imaging industry this year, RadiologyBusiness.com will be there, ready to cover it.

Though I’m sure much of the news we write about this year will be unexpected, there are a handful of stories I’m excited to watch develop.

For example, the waiting period is now officially over, and all CT machines must comply with the XR-29-2013 CT standard to avoid reductions in Medicare payments.

Is your practice or department compliant? Do you have any other general questions about the XR-29 standard? We released a primer of sorts on the standard last year that may prove to be helpful. The reduction for scans made with non-compliant equipment is 5 percent this year, but that jumps to 15 percent in 2017. Make sure you don’t let that extra ten percent sneak up on you!

I’m especially curious to learn how CMS will enforce this standard, and to see how many practices and departments are fully compliant as it gets closer to 2017 and the higher payment reductions.

Another story we’re keeping an eye on here at RadiologyBusiness.com is the progress of companies such as SHINE Medical Technologies, Niowave, and NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes as they work toward producing U.S.-made  molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) without highly enriched uranium.

While SHINE is inching closer and closer to building its brand new production facility, Niowave announced a completed production run of Mo-99 with a superconducting electron linear accelerator. We’ll be keeping a close watch on these companies to see what big news breaks next.

I’m also excited to see what all of the imaging societies and journals have in store for the new year. Publications such as the Journal of the American College of Radiology, Academic Radiology, and JAMA have provided the industry with invaluable insight and knowledge in 2015; I’m confident their content will be even better in the year ahead.

I know it’s just been a few days, but I already have a good feeling about 2016. 

-Michael Walter
Associate Editor