Facility Management

A downturn in new freestanding imaging center growth, coupledwith buyer anxiety in other health-care sectors, has made 1992a disappointing year for new MRI system placements in the U.S. Manufacturers will sell about 500 new systems in the U.S.

Medical imaging investors are closely following efforts by federaland state lawmakers to reform financial rollups. While rollupabuses have largely occurred outside the imaging center industry,legal reform efforts could limit a promising channel for

A federal proposal to cut medical costs and boost health insuranceavailability has passed a critical Congressional juncture. Thebill would regulate national health-care spending through costcaps to doctors, hospitals and medical equipment manufacturers.

John P. Heinrich is back in the MRI business, although indirectly.The former vice president of MRI at Johnson & Johnson's defunctTechnicare subsidiary was appointed president and COO of SummitWorld Trade in December. Summit, based in Hudson, OH, is a

This issue of DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING SCAN is number 120, marking fivefull years of publication. It has been a wild and fun five yearsfor us. Few industries other than medical imaging could offerso much corporate drama and technological razzmatazz.SCAN's

Syncor International has filed a petition with the Food and DrugAdministration in a move related to the agency's review of radiopharmaceuticalsfor positron emission computed tomography.Syncor, headquartered in Chatsworth, CA, operates 94 nuclear

Cardiovascular Imaging Systems (CVIS) of Sunnyvale, CA, went publiclast month, raising about $10 million. The funds will help expandmarketing and development of intravascular ultrasound products,according to Richard M. Ferrari, president and CEO. CVIS

A positron emission tomography utilization model developed bythe American Hospital Association indicates a strong clinicalrationale for PET. On the flip side, while some private payersreimburse the procedure, the modality's high cost and a reluctanceon

DVI Health Services of Irvine, CA, switched its stock listingfrom the NASDAQ over-the-counter market to the New York StockExchange last week. At the same time, DVI offered 1.525 millionshares of common stock in New York at $10 per share. The

Toshiba America Medical Systems has completed restructuring ofits U.S. field sales and service organization for all imagingmodalities other than ultrasound. A two-zone system should improveToshiba's ability to respond to customers and coordinate

Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Connecticut has acquired a 60% equityshare of Signal Medical Services, an imaging services firm basedin Farmington, CT. The deal was closed last month after Signalrejected an offer from venture capitalists from Atlanta.

Fee-per-scan payment plans are gaining popularity among institutionsconsidering fixed-site MRI. Greater difficulty for providers inqualifying for low-cost equipment financing has helped spur demandfor fee-per-scan financing. In a fee-per-scan plan,

A new slant to outpatient imaging services may be in the offing:combination mammography screening and minimally invasive needlebiopsy centers. Breast-screening-only centers never gained much momentum, largelybecause of the low level of reimbursement

Purchasing and operating successful imaging centers requires afocus on the personalities behind these businesses. A center runby a physician who maintains good relationships with doctors inthe community offers an acquiring imaging center chain

In a surprise last-minute move, the Florida state legislaturehas imposed price caps on imaging procedures as part of a billbanning self-referral practices. Centers will be prohibited fromcharging more than 115% of the Medicare fee schedule for

American Health Services took advantage of low interest ratesto restructure its equipment financing relationship with GE MedicalSystems this month. The imaging services firms converted 16 GEMRI units from operating leases to owned systems.GE provided AHS

Radiology ultrasound leaders ATL and Acuson both acknowledge thatthe ultrasound market tightened up last year. They differ, however,in interpreting how slow the market was and in what ways theirrespective positions changed. Both vendors say that product

Diasonics managed to increase income from continuing operations15% in fiscal 1991 (end-December) despite ultrasound price competitionand softening imaging demand in Europe, according to Rod Young,president and CEO.Income for the year was $18.9 million,

A survey of group health charges in the capital cities of 17 statesdisclosed huge variations in the 1991 reimbursement rates forMR and CT procedures. Information on charges was gathered fromthe files of the Group Health Insurance Association of America,a

A research report released this month by Wall Street securitiesfirm Morgan Stanley reduced income and sales growth projectionsfor radiology ultrasound leader Acuson. Despite market sluggishness,however, the vendor maintains a bottom line that most

Resuscitated Japanese sales, blooming international market shareand a possible play in ultrasound should help Picker Internationalavoid sluggish sales in a maturing U.S. medical imaging market,according to Cary J. Nolan, president and CEO.With no new

The final rules for Medicare's new resource-based relative valuescale appear to address two of the three major issues posed bythe American College of Radiology regarding physician paymentreform. The 1500-page regulation, announced last week, recognizes

Prospects for mobile medical services are strong in light of severalfederal and state regulatory trends, said William L. MacKnight,chairman and CEO of Maxum Health, a Dallas-based imaging servicesprovider. Changes in Medicare capital reimbursement and

Financial support from a Florida aerospace company and the serviceexpertise of several former Quantum Imaging managers aided theformation of a new imaging center firm in September. MediTek Health of Tampa intends to acquire existing

Diagnostic imaging manufacturers face problems if major insurersproceed with plans to consolidate their medical technology assessmentsefforts, according to Bobby J. Bowen, vice president of GE MedicalSystems' advanced technology division. The joint