Facility Management

Ultrasound will step into thepolitically charged environs ofwomen's health and address thevagaries of today's financial challengesat this year's RSNA meeting.

CMS considers expanding PET coverageAvreo snaps up multisite contract

Teleradiology's relatively smooth sail into the waters of commercial success may be in for some turbulence as prices per read drop like a barometer in a hurricane. Most of the pressure forcing rates downward comes from the perfect storm of increased competition, reduced reimbursements, commoditization of preliminary read service, and continuing effects of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005

A unique touchscreen iPhone-teleradiology application that allows physicians to navigate through diagnostic images from home, train, or golf cart was announced in June at the Apple user's meeting by an Ohio biomedical company.

An advisory legal opinion from the Department of Health and Human Services in favor of a specialized service to handle the processing of high-tech preauthorization requests for referring physicians has drawn a mixed response among legal and industry authorities.

Radiologists worry about surprise rate cuts and tighter tech regulation but still wield influence over IT and healthcare quality initiatives

Donated Siemens MR begins operatingSiemens suggests PET swap for bone scansSNM highlights molecular imaging advancesSymposium focuses on ultrasound surgery

In what is likely to be a precursor to uniform standards for clinical tele-radiology, an international network of radiology organizations has drafted guidelines for the burgeoning teleradiology industry.

What radiologists gleefully celebrated almost a year ago has been officially validated for the entire medical community by The New England Journal of Medicine: CT colonography is an accurate alternative to colonoscopy to detect suspicious polyps and is primed for colorectal cancer screening. Virtual colonoscopy proponents say CTC is also ready for reimbursement.

A survey of academic radiologists’ clinical productivity shows that workload continues to increase, in both exam volume and complexity. Academic department heads could use the survey data to help set staffing levels and evaluate the performance of individual radiologists.

Cerebral blood flow imaging may eventually help identify young people who need preventive therapy Adolescents at relatively high risk for depression and alcohol abuse demonstrate distinct patterns of resting cerebral blood flow in areas of the brain associated with emotional behavior and decision making, according to preliminary results from the Research Imaging Center at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio.

Long waits, unfriendly staff, and big copays could rival cold entrees in healthcare reviews posted on Internet Diners have long relied on Zagat Survey for guidance when choosing a restaurant. Now, patients in several large U.S. cities will have a chance to use the same consumer-based rating service to choose a physician.

It's been a year since practice manager Lorna Vaughan took out an ad seeking a breast imager to work on the Jersey Shore. To her surprise, a "dream-come-true, fee-for-service, patient- focused, personal and compassionate practice with partnership and ownership opportunity" has been a hard sell.

Radiology PACS and cardiology PACS have more in common than the same last name. Similarities include diagnostic workstations, archive infrastructure, DICOM modality work list functionality, web-based distribution, and interfaces to hospital information systems and electronic medical records.

The largest multi-institutional study to date examining the effect of PET on the management of recurrent colorectal cancer has found that its finding led to change in the treatment plans for more than half of patients.

An unscheduled shutdown of the High Flux Reactor at Petten in the Netherlands has raised concern about a possible interruption of molybdenum-99 supplies for nuclear medicine procedures in Europe and North America.

Draft of global standards covers image quality, security, and controversial issues such as liability In what is likely a precursor to uniform standards for clinical teleradiology, an international network of radiology organizations has drafted guidelines for the burgeoning teleradiology industry.

A Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services advisory panel has found that most available clinical data for nine conditionally approved cancer indications of FDG-PET, evaluated by the National Oncologic PET Registry and a separate Canadian study, are too ambivalent to support Medicare coverage.

Telemedicine has developed considerably over the past four or five years, turning from a much-debated theory into a practical reality. E-prescribing, telemonitoring, and teleradiology are becoming increasingly commonplace, and further growth in these and other areas is likely.

The nationwide shortage of radiologists, coupled with the growing acceptance and prevalence of teleradiology, has many radiologists and group practice managers seeing opportunities in places they previously would not consider.

The International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine is geared toward the eggheads of MR: the knob twisters who squeeze as much from their clinical scanners as they can, the experimentalists who push the limits of ultrahigh-field imaging.

Just in time for a looming onset of new liver disease, MR elastography has arrived to employ principles as old as palpation and as new as cross-sectional imaging to create an accurate, noninvasive way to diagnose and stage hepatic fibrosis and other liver disorders.