Facility Management

After a year of hammering out the fine print, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Academy of Molecular Imaging announced this month that they have started collecting data for the National Oncologic PET Registry.

Traditional forms of radiation therapy have a formidable new competitor. A nonradioactive form of brachytherapy, cleared late last year by the FDA and being readied for preliminary roll out, dramatically reduces the length of treatment for early-stage beast cancer following lumpectomy and promises to bring radiation therapy to physician offices and imaging centers.

After twice considering and rejecting endorsement of CT colonography as a cancer screening tool, the American Cancer Society is taking another look. Prompted by advances in reporting standards, technique, and training, the ACS may include the virtual colonoscopy technique as an optional test in its colon cancer screening guidelines by year's end. Such a move, coupled by favorable results from a national clinical trial, could push CTC into the practice mainstream, bolstering adoption, furthering development of computer-aided detection, and most important, fostering reimbursement.

Acquiring information about mammography procedures is one thing. Using that information in a report and follow-up is something else. That's where programs like MagView come in. The mammography information system can be configured with integrated scheduling, billing, radiology reporting, transcription, patient tracking, management reporting, and equipment quality control.

Sweaty hands, or palmar hyperhidrosis, can hinder a person’s social or professional life. A minimally invasive procedure performed under CT fluoroscopy guidance provides a permanent solution to the embarrassing problem, according to Belgian researchers.

The U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed a $39 billion budget-cutting bill yesterday with provisions that significantly reduce Medicare reimbursement for imaging services.

Day-to-day radiology practice has changed immeasurably over the past 20 years. Many senior radiologists will no doubt recall how, as residents, they were asked to review 50 to 100 conventional x-rays each working day. Today, a single trauma patient can generate 1500 to 2000 images. As a result, if a dozen or so emergency cases arrive during the night shift, the resident on duty could be overwhelmed by more than 25,000 images to review.

MR-guided laser ablation proved as effective as the current standard of care for the treatment of liver tumors in a study by University of Frankfurt researchers. The trial highlights the largest patient population and longest follow-up of its kind.

New technology now allows bone densitometers to make a more visible contribution to evaluating risk of osteoporosis. Scans that once generated only quantitative measurements can be postprocessed into low-resolution images of the spine. This capability is designed to help physicians spot deformities in vertebral bodies that might otherwise go unnoticed.

Newly developed ultrasound probe technology that acquires data in one sweeping stroke is propelling 3D ultrasound into new realms. Aided by software that reconstructs volumetric information, radiologists can review ultrasound data on workstations the same way they do CT and MR.

Two different advanced MRI techniques can help clinicians choose epilepsy patients who will favorably respond to surgical intervention, according to a pair of studies published in the October 2005 issue of Neurology.

With the growing use of physician privileging, a license to practice medicine no longer functions as a free pass for practitioners to perform whatever diagnostic imaging they choose in their clinical practice. Private insurers are learning that privileging-policies that permit payments only to physicians who possess specific educational credentials-can combat inappropriate utilization and prevent shoddy quality.

The FDA approved use of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) for stroke in 1996, but it took another 10 years for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to offer reimbursement. The agency's decision is part of a larger trend that recognizes the value of preventive care and treatment compared with the cost of longer hospital stays.

While Republicans and Democrats each claimed victory Wednesday in the contentious battle to pass a budget resolution, radiologists on both sides are declaring themselves the losers.

For radiology to move into the digital arena in underserved areas around the world, financial, cultural, and technological stumbling blocks have to be removed, according to a recent case study.

A substantial amount of clinical data shows that radiofrequency ablation of small kidney tumors is a safe and effective alternative to open or laparoscopic resection. Distinct intervention protocols and complementary techniques could further boost RFA's efficacy and expand its application to areas where it was previously deemed unsafe.

Increasing workload is a common trend in radiology departments throughout Europe. The question is, How can we measure it effectively?

Balancing the benefits of a procedure involving ionizing radiation against the possibility of unwanted damage is often difficult. Regulations on exposure must consider medical, economic, and ethical aspects of radiation as well as the individual and collective dose of the population.

Although neurosurgeons depend on preoperative functional MRI to map eloquent brain areas, technique standards need strengthening and reimbursement is nonexistent. The recent formation of a dedicated fMRI society is serving to galvanize interest and search for solutions to these and other issues, according to a Wednesday panel discussion.

For radiology to move into the digital arena in underserved areas around the world, financial, cultural, and technological stumbling blocks have to be removed, according to a case study presented Tuesday at the RSNA meeting.

Excluding stroke patients for thrombolysis based on an established rating of early ischemic changes on CT may not be obligatory, according to a study in the October issue of Stroke.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has approved a new CPT code to reimburse hospitals specifically for radiofrequency ablation of kidney tumors. CMS also provided new payment classifications and higher payment rates for existing RFA-related procedures.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has approved a new CPT code to reimburse hospitals specifically for radiofrequency ablation of kidney tumors. CMS also provided new payment classifications and higher payment rates for existing RFA-related procedures.

Tracking information about workflow, payment, and outcomes has never been more important for breast imaging centers. Some clinical and technical data collection has long been mandated by the Mammography Quality Standards Act, and new recommendations by the Institute of Medicine could require centers to step up their efforts.

The U.S. Senate last week passed a budget reconciliation bill that includes an amendment to fund a one-time ultrasound screening for abdominal aortic aneurysms.

Dr. Francis Facchini, an attending radiologist at Decatur Memorial Hospital and an assistant professor at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, is one of three dedicated interventional radiologists performing radiofrequency ablation and other tumor ablation procedures in the hospital’s cancer practice. He spoke to Diagnostic Imaging’s Tumor Ablation Clinic about the practical aspects of incorporating RFA into a cancer practice and what role he expects the technology to play in the future.

What does it take to incorporate radiofrequency ablation into a successful cancer practice? Time, money, and skills, to be sure, but also a shift in the way physicians think about modalities, specialties, and the disease itself. The Cancer Care Institute at Decatur Memorial Hospital in Illinois is one practice that has successfully incorporated RFA into its treatment options. Here’s how they did it.