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.
Imaging center chain buys PACS
September 1st 2004Imaging services provider Medical Resources has selected Dynamic Imaging as the PACS provider for centers in its Florida region. The company's Web-driven IntegradWeb PACS will be installed at seven sites throughout the state. The primary reading location
Siemens gains FDA approval for digital mammography unit
September 1st 2004Another vendor is ready to enter the market for digital mammography. Siemens Medical Solutions obtained FDA approval Aug. 20 for its Mammomat Novation DR full-field digital mammography system.Siemens is the fourth vendor to offer such a product in the
Trade groups launch effort to certify EHR products
July 30th 2004A consortium of trade organizations has launched an initiative it hopes will establish a certification process for electronic health record (EHR) products. Such a process could go into effect next year.Following an initial meeting July 13, the trade
FDA nod clears first lung CAD technology product
July 16th 2004R2 Technology, a perennial leader in the development of computer-aided detection technology, has received premarket approval from the FDA to sell its ImageChecker CT CAD software in the U.S. An executive for the Sunnyvale, CA, company said marketing
Grid could easily transform the practice of radiology
May 19th 2004In our last article, "Grid computing makes most of finite resources" (April, page 21), we discussed the technical aspects of grid computing and how it might be used to provide diagnostic radiology services. While we certainly don't possess a crystal
Radiologix sells San Antonio centers
May 18th 2004In a $10.5 million cash deal, national provider of diagnostic imaging services Radiologix has sold one wholly owned diagnostic imaging center and five joint venture imaging centers to Baptist Health System of San Antonio. The company has also retained
SonoSite upgrades tiny Titan to extend ob/gyn capabilities
May 18th 2004One-time maverick ultrasound manufacturer SonoSite continued its relocation into the clinical mainstream this month with the expansion of ob/gyn capabilities for its Titan ultrasound scanner.New ob/gyn calculations and measurement capabilities were
Growth in angiography encourages Epix exec about MR agent prospects
May 18th 2004Demand for angiography is booming in the U.S., according to Epix Medical. The Cambridge, MA, developer of an MR angiography agent now in review at the FDA is banking on it staying that way.In a teleconference April 29, the company's chief executive
Market growth for densitometers depends on primary-care practices
April 30th 2004Manufacturers of bone density machines are enjoying steady and healthy business from hospitals, according to industry sources. Radiology departments and women's imaging centers are adding second and even third central dual x-ray absorptiometry (DXA)
CT market struggles as vendors prepare new generation of scanners
April 21st 2004Return of growth depends on megaslice productsThe arrival of the next generation of CT scanners--32-, 40-, and 64-slice products--promises to reinvigorate a market that stumbled last year and showed continued weakness in the first
Texas CAD start-up jockeys for position in mammography
April 21st 2004Approach differs fundamentally from competitors'Dallas-based VuComp is gearing up to mount a direct challenge to established mammography CAD competitors, taking aim at R2 Technology and CADx. The company plans to begin marketing
FDA approval process slows efforts to bring CR mammography to U.S.
March 24th 2004Fuji executives shoot for commercial release late this yearPlans to release a CR mammography system into the U.S. market this spring have stalled as the requisite premarket approval process slowed to a crawl at the FDA and set
Vendors explore cardiology as PET/CT sales opportunity
March 24th 2004GE's HeartFusion debuts at ACC meeting Oncology is the runaway leader in PET/CT applications, accounting for 90% or more of the studies performed with this hybrid technology. Vendors would like to expand its scope as a way to
Demands of volume coverage drive use of teleradiology
March 17th 2004Joe and Jane Radiologist seem reasonably happy. Volumes at their practice are way up. Reading an average of 15,000 to 20,000 studies per year, they occasionally feel overworked, but they manage by putting in longer hours. They do wish they had a little
Cost concerns limit CPOE implementation
February 25th 2004Computerized physician order entry (CPOE) systems can flag potential medication errors and cut the number of serious prescribing errors in half. But cost concerns have limited their implementation to fewer than 5% of U.S. hospitals, the director of
Kryptiq Unveils New Solution for Managing Healthcare Insurance Contracts
February 23rd 2004ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- (HIMSS Conference & Exhibition) -- Kryptiq Corp. announced today that it has released a contract management solution aimed at helping medical insurance payers better manage their contracts with medical care
Viatronix converts publicity into strong product sales
February 11th 2004Virtual colonoscopy catches on as credibility risesLess than two months after the RSNA meeting, Viatronix has leveraged the media attention it received there and the resulting acceptance of virtual colonoscopy to report a surge in
RF tumor ablation breaks through in clinical practice
February 1st 2004At 7 a.m., a patient with a small, inoperable liver tumor arrives at a community hospital for a previously scheduled radio-frequency ablation. At 8 a.m., he lies in a CT scanner, sedated but conscious. A few minutes later, the interventional radiologist, guided by CT fluoroscopy, inserts a needle into the patient's abdomen. A probe slides through it and opens up, umbrella-like, within the target lesion. Because the patient seems tense, the physician tries some humor, asking before he turns on the electrode, "Medium rare or well done?"
Medicare bill sets stage for changes in radiology
January 8th 2004Increased payments could boost equipment salesMost of the attention given the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003, signed into law Dec. 8, has focused on the inclusion of pharmaceuticals. But there
Technique and patient prep prove key in detecting colon polyps with virtual colonoscopy
December 1st 2003Virtual colonoscopy is gaining in clinical stature as a viable screening tool for colon cancer, with high sensitivity and specificity in detecting colonic polyps. But proper technique and good patient preparation are key to success, according to research presented Monday.
CMS HIPAA Contingency Plan Crucial to Continuity of Care
November 17th 2003The HIPAA contingency plan devised by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) should allow the industry the additional time it needs to prepare for implementation of the Transaction and Code Sets regulation. But the plan is also crucial to
FDA warns of adverse effects from use of drug-eluting stent
November 12th 2003Negative reactions taint Cordis productThe safety of drug-eluting stents was called into question Oct. 29, when the FDA issued a warning that one such device, the only one approved for sale in the U.S., can cause clotting and
Digital magnifying glass allows mammograms to be digitized and selectively analyzed
November 12th 2003Point-and-shoot CCD technology enhances images instantlyIt would be hard to find an area of radiology less able to afford digital technology than mammography. Low reimbursement rates have strained the budgets of mammographers, yet
GE evolving handheld ultrasound with advances in nanotechnology
November 12th 2003PDA-like device based on piezoceramics alternativeFollowing a universal trend to make electronic devices smaller, GE is developing a prototype of a handheld diagnostic ultrasound unit. The system is similar in shape to the popular
Globalization comes to radiology
November 6th 2003On most weekday mornings, Dr. Arjun Kalyanpur can be found in his Bangalore, India, office performing imaging diagnoses for dozens of hospitals in the U.S. CT and ultrasound studies from as many as 35 hospitals flash across his workstation screen.With
Detroit center offers body 'tours'
September 10th 2003Equipped with a GE Lightspeed and staffed by two board-certified radiologists, a new imaging center has begun offering heart, lung, and full-body CTs in the Detroit suburb of Warren. For the first three months of operation, center directors are selling