The Diagnostic Imaging facility management focus page provides information, videos, podcasts, and the latest news about workflow optimization, artificial intelligence, technology, radiology-radiologic technologist relationships, productivity, legislation, and reimbursement.
May 14th 2024
While radiologists and other providers may be discouraged by insurer denials saying the use of a technological advance is “unproven and investigational,” 82 percent of appeals for prior authorization denials were approved in 2021.
U.S. Diagnostic Labs stakes claim as consolidator of imaging centers
May 22nd 1996Firm to have 31 centers if pending deals close U.S. Diagnostic Labs may not be a household name in the imagingcenter industry yet, but that could change if the company is ableto realize its ambitious aspirations. The West Palm Beach, FL,firm
Medical Resources buys three centers
May 8th 1996Imaging center firm Medical Resources is making good on its promiseto carry out acquisitions in 1996. The Clifton, NJ, company saidlast week that it has completed agreements to buy three more imagingcenters, which bring the total number of facilities in
Acuson grows Sequoia platform to lift prospects in ultrasound
May 8th 1996Scanner's high price may run afoul of managed careUltrasound vendor Acuson sees shades of 1983 in the release ofits new Sequoia ultrasound platform. That was the year that theMountain View, CA, vendor burst onto the ultrasound scene
DeJarnette sets up shop in Europe
April 10th 1996Systems connectivity developer DeJarnette Research Systems isopening its first branch offices in response to healthy demandfor the company's products. The firm said last month that it hasopened offices in Milan, Italy, and Palm Beach, FL, and has
Advanced NMR gains FDA clearancefor dedicated MRI breast scanner
March 13th 1996Sales efforts to focus on women's health servicesA year and a day after filing its 510(k) application with theFood and Drug Administration, Advanced NMR of Wilmington, MA,gained regulatory clearance to commence U.S. marketing effortsfor Aurora,
HCFA reschedules review of MRA reimbursement policy
March 13th 1996New policy raised the ire of radiologistsThe budget negotiations that snarled the U.S. government in Januaryalso caused the Health Care Financing Administration to postponeits technical advisory committee meeting from early February toMarch 26
Centocor's Myoscint returnswith positive FDA panel review
February 14th 1996Centocor withdrew Myoscint's PLA in 1993A Food and Drug Administration panel in January recommended approvalfor Centocor's Myoscint, a monoclonal antibody-based imaging agentthat was pulled from FDA consideration two years ago after
MediTek to open 14th imaging center
February 14th 1996The expansionist trend of imaging services provider MediTek Healthcontinues. The Miami company announced this month that it willopen its 14th center, a multimodality facility to be built nearBirmingham, AL. The new center will be called Greystone
MediTek to open new imaging center
January 31st 1996Imaging services provider MediTek Health of Miami is planningto open its 13th imaging center through an agreement reached witha New Jersey hospital, according to MediTek's parent, Heico ofHollywood, FL. The new facility, United MRI, will be located onthe
Fonar claims early success for new MRI scanner series
January 17th 1996Damadian sees many routes to company comebackLess than a month after its first major exhibition in seven years,MRI pioneer Fonar has announced the receipt of five signed andfunded orders for its new Quad series of open-style MRI scanners.Another 10
Merck's Fosamax boosts sales for smaller bone densitometry firms
December 27th 1995Osteoporosis drug raises all corporate boatsLunar and Hologic aren't the only firms benefiting from increasedinterest in bone densitometry. The same good news that has ledto improved sales for the two bone densitometry segment leadershas
Camera orders cause Positron shortfall
December 13th 1995PET camera developer Positron is experiencing a shortage of workingcapital as it moves to fill a surge of orders it has receivedthis year for its PET technology. Positron received five orders for PET cameras this year, thehighest number in one year in
Positron wins order for PET camera
November 8th 1995Positron has received an order for a Posicam HZL PET camera, thefourth such order the Houston company has won since April, whenthe Health Care Financing Administration granted Medicare reimbursementfor rubidium-82 studies (SCAN 4/12/95). The order was
Medical Resources turns corner with focus on managed care
November 8th 1995Company pursues imaging center acquisitions Imaging services firm Medical Resources is proving that thereis life after managed care for the imaging center industry. TheClifton, NJ, firm decided to target managed-care contracts earlyon and has
California imaging center sues to protect `Open MRI' trademark
November 8th 1995Generic uses of term are okay, plaintiff saysThe owner of a Hayward, CA, imaging center that specializes inopen-architecture MRI has gone to federal court to assert trademarkrights over the name "Open MRI" for magnetic resonanceimaging
FDA and HCFA announce new policy to pay for unapproved devices
October 25th 1995Restrictions will limit application of policyTwo federal agencies whose regulation of medical devices has madethem the targets of industry critics have jointly developed apolicy that promises to increase the access of Medicare patientsto new
Medicare grants limited coveragefor head and neck MR angiography
October 25th 1995Feds to pay when x-ray angio is contraindicatedThe Health Care Financing Administration last month expanded MedicarePart B coverage for magnetic resonance angiography of the heador neck in cases when x-ray angiography is contraindicated. The
Philips hits the highway with big ironon tour with 1.5-tesla mobile MRI unit
September 27th 1995NT Mobile scanner travels fully ramped upPhilips Medical Systems hopes to inject some life into the mobileMRI industry by releasing a transportable version of its 1.5-teslaGyroscan ACS-NT scanner. The magnet is unique among 1.5-teslasystems in
Legal costs slash profits of DEXA firms
September 13th 1995Bone densitometry competitors Lunar and Hologic are enjoying asurge in demand for their products thanks to Medicare reimbursementof dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). Unfortunately, theongoing legal battle between the arch-rivals is making it
OHTA shows tepid support for PETin technology assessment study
September 13th 1995HCFA granted Medicare reimbursement anywayThe Office of Health Technology Assessment displayed lukewarmenthusiasm for cardiac PET imaging using rubidium-82 in a studythat formed the basis for Medicare reimbursement of the procedure,which began
Medi-Physics and CTI join forcesin regional cyclotron agreement
September 13th 1995FDA roadblock awaits Des Plaines radiopharmacyRadiopharmacy chain Medi-Physics and cyclotron developer CTI Serviceshave entered a joint-venture agreement to operate a regional PETradiopharmacy to supply the Chicago area with
German panel slams low-field MRI with ruling on homogeneity volume
August 16th 1995Decision bars reimbursement for low-field scans in private clinicsA German regulatory body dealt a major setback to the MRI industrylast week when it set stringent criteria that effectively banfederal insurance reimbursement in the country for
HCFA readies MRA reimbursement policy
July 19th 1995Policy makers at the Health Care Financing Administration havefinalized a national coverage policy for MR angiography that willsoon be published in one of the agency's coverage issues manuals,a HCFA official confirmed late last month. HCFA officials
Health Images and MedAlliance disputepayment in imaging center acquisition
July 19th 1995Health Images claims center revenue fell shortHealth Images and MedAlliance are at loggerheads over the sizeof a contingent payment Health Images agreed to make as part ofits purchase of 15 MedAlliance imaging centers. The dispute willnot affect
Hologic case takes toll on Lunar
July 19th 1995Bone densitometry firm Lunar said its ongoing legal battle withHologic will result in unexpectedly high legal costs that willeat into profits for the fourth quarter (end-June). Lunar willprobably post profits for the quarter that are lower comparedto the
PET community launches lobbying in wake of FDA radioisotopes ruling
May 10th 1995Industry hopes to piggy-back abbreviated NDAsAnger has turned to action as the PET community struggles to cometo grips with federal initiatives that threaten to hamstring themodality. PET practitioners have launched a major effort to comeinto
Imatron opens first HeartScan clinic for ultrafast CT coronary screening
April 26th 1995Seattle site is first in national networkFast CT developer Imatron this month opened its first HeartScanImaging clinic in Seattle to provide coronary artery disease riskassessment studies. The clinic is the first in what Imatron hopeswill be a
HCFA gives PET market a dose of good news with decision to reimburse rubidium-82 studies
April 12th 1995PET camera vendor Positron expected to benefitThe long-suffering PET industry received a needed boost last monthwhen the Health Care Financing Administration indicated that itwould provide Medicare reimbursement for myocardial perfusionstudies