Combining T2-weighted MRI to detect microvascular obstructions with delayed-enhancement imaging to measure myocardial viability offers clinicians a better way to assess myocardial infarction, according to a new study from Japan.
The American College of Radiology is predicting that imaging access will plunge and patient waiting times will soar from new Medicare Physician Fee Schedule rules that will cut Medicare payments for outpatient imaging by an estimated 16% next year.
PET imaging of non-small cell lung cancer prior to receiving radiation therapy should not be the basis for determining areas that may benefit from higher doses of radiation, according to research presented this week at the 2009 American Society of Radiation Oncology meeting.
Although radiologists’ call to crack down on imaging self-referral has not found a strong reception in Congress, government agencies and insurance companies at the state level have been gradually tightening their oversight and control of the controversial practice. Radiologists could play an important role in keeping up the momentum.
CMS will increase the equipment utilization rate assumption used to determine the practice expense for all nontherapeutic medical equipment, including diagnostic imaging systems, from 50% to 90% under new Medicare fee schedule rules announced Friday. In a bit of good news for radiology, CMS said it remains on track to require that suppliers of advanced imaging services become accredited by 2012.
Healthcare reform legislation from the House of Representatives, announced Thursday by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is ready to go to members for discussion and a vote. The bill would cut Medicare payment rates for advanced imaging while establishing a 2.5% surcharge on the purchase price of new imaging equipment.
The number of applications for the iPhone has skyrocketed and medicine-related applications are coming online at a rapid pace. Four new applications have been developed specifically for medical professionals, some of which will aid radiologists as well as referring physicians.
A long-term study of breast imaging in Massachusetts has confirmed what mammographers have argued for years: older adult women who do not receive regular screening mammography are far more likely to die of breast cancer than women who routinely undergo the procedure.
Most radiologists may not consider spending 20 minutes a day socializing with patients as time well spent, but Dr. Harvey Neiman, executive director of the American College of Radiology, considers it a crucial investment for the profession’s survival.
A forward-looking commentary in the Journal of the American Medical Association and related news coverage in The New York Times have drawn public attention to the diagnostic limitations of mammography and prostate cancer screening and future opportunities to develop better tests.
