Medicare reimbursement for high-tech imaging, including MRI and CT, could be cut by up to 40% if the Obama administration moves ahead with plans covered in proposed changes to the 2010 Physician Fee Schedule to shift funds to primary care physicians.

Diagnostic imaging is the focus of 11 of 100 priority research projects identified in an Institute of Medicine report released Tuesday that promises to revolutionize how the clinical efficacy and cost-effectiveness of emerging medical technologies and treatment regimens are determined in the U.S.

Mexican physicians have compiled a set of radiological findings that is helping local health agencies confirm the diagnosis of the swine A-H1N1 flu virus in humans. Some imaging patterns resemble those from the severe acute respiratory syndrome or ‘avian flu’ epidemic that struck mostly Asian countries in 2003.

The oldest radiology group in historic Natchez, MS, faces hard times, if an acute-care hospital in town executes plans to contract with an out-of-town medical group to remotely provide its imaging reading services.

Imaging proponents used an opportunity to testify before the Congressional Rural Caucus June 24 to lay out their agenda for what’s right and what’s wrong with legislative healthcare reform proposals.

Myocardial anomalies detected in long-distance runners after they cross the finish line should not be interpreted as signs of possible heart damage. Using cardiac MR, Canadian investigators have found evidence that these abnormalities are only temporary.

The chairs of the three House of Representatives committees that oversee health policy have released an outline of healthcare reform that could lead to significant changes for radiology.

Receptor-targeted radiotherapy using yttrium-90 DOTA-Tyr3 octreotide could become a life-saving option for patients with iodine-refractory thyroid cancer, based on results from a phase II clinical trial.

A study by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission has confirmed what critics of in-office self-referred imaging have long claimed. Physicians who have a financial interest in medical imaging equipment are more likely to refer patients to use it, and they incur higher costs generally than physicians who do not have similar financial incentives.

Direct communications between radiologists and their congressional representatives and letter-writing campaigns have become key ingredients for medical imaging lobbying efforts directed at the White House and Capitol.