Facility Management

Hitachi Medical will be the exclusive distributor of ADAC Laboratories’ PET systems in Japan, the companies announced late last month. The distribution arrangement expands upon an agreement between ADAC and Hitachi that was struck last

Spacelabs targets consumers with new Web-based productsMonitoring firm launches blood pressure siteLike its longtime rival Agilent, Spacelabs Medical is busy Web- and wireless-enabling its standard patient monitoring and related product

Members of AdvaMed told the House Commerce Committee’s subcommittee on health and environment last month that new medical technologies are reaching patients too slowly because of delays in the Health Care Financing Administration’s coding,

Companies say patients are the ones hurt by rulesDespite the looming deadline, contrast media companies still hope to persuade the Health Care Financing Administration that contrast media is a valuable imaging device worthy of its own codes

19 radiologists could be jailed for backdating MR machine orders As many as 19 Australian radiologists could face criminal charges in what is being called the biggest Medicare fraud in that country's history, but the federal investigation may

Deal opens door to bone densitometry and dedicated MRI GE Medical Systems has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Lunar of Madison, WI. The acquisition, announced June 2 and scheduled to close within 60 to 90 days, promises to transform

Interest in e-health boosting telehealth products and apps Telemedicine shows renewed spirit at ATA meeting Boosted by advances in Internet-based health services and applications, the telemedicine industry has found new momentum,

Some companies founder, while others take off Just when some industry executives see boom times ahead for freestanding diagnostic imaging centers, some imaging companies are struggling to stay in business. New Medicare reimbursement rules

Company hopes to take advantage of HCFA rules changes A lease buyout from GE, a growth plan for increasing the daily number of scans at its imaging centers, and a streamlining of inventory have given InSight Health Services healthy results in

Hospitals, equipment vendors, and pharmaceutical companies are waiting for the Health Care Financing Administration, the U.S. agency that operates Medicare, to release a list that will tell them whether their products and services receive full or

Healthcare information technology vendors and consulting firms may find themselves running fast just to stay in place over the next few years. Core markets are saturated, hospitals have less money to spend, and CIOs are focused on compliance with the

Analysts forecast slower growth in 2000 Healthcare information technology vendors and consulting firms may find themselves running fast just to stay in place over the next few years. Core markets

Healthcare facilities should begin planning to implement digital radiography, including a full digital information infrastructure such as a PACS. So says the latest edition of the Health Technology Forecast, which offers specific recommendations

During deregulation talks in March, Clinton administration trade officials urged members of Japan’s Ministry of Health and Welfare in Tokyo to expedite the process by which American companies sell new and improved medical equipment.As part of last

Mobile P.E.T. Systems of San Diego unveiled the first mobile cardiac positron emission tomography unit March 12 at the American College of Cardiology meeting in Anaheim, CA, and is starting its first service route in April in the Los Angeles area.The

Nuclear cardiac perfusion studies are growing “by leaps and bounds,” according to an industry analyst, while cardiac MR and cardiac CT hover around 1% of total studies in those modalities.In 1993, cardiac perfusion studies made up only 38% of

Florida, home of Epcot and NASA, is about to launch the largest filmless imaging center in the U.S. While other facilities may process more images annually, the Pensacola imaging center, a new 36,000-square-foot freestanding edifice, ranks as the largest

Telemedicine market projected to grow 20% in 2000New report analyzes growth factors, business opportunitiesContrary to the nagging perception of telemedicine as an industry that has yet to get off the ground, the global telemedicine

Standards Update: Integrating systems outside the radiology departmentHerman Oosterwijk, president, OTech Inc.The first meeting of the new DICOM Working Group 20, a joint DICOM/HL7 committee that deals

Industry predictions proved correct last month when GE Medical Systems received premarket approval from the Food and Drug Administration for its full-field digital mammography unit, Senographe 2000D. The news made GE the first company to win the right to

Mobile PET provider Mobile PET Systems of San Diego has signed a five-year contract with Torrance Memorial Medical Center, a 380-bed facility based in Torrance, CA. The contract includes mobile services, trained technologists, and clinical support.The

A study published by SMG Marketing Group of Chicago shows that the number of U.S. imaging centers profiled by the company increased in the first three quarters of 1999 by 5% compared to the year before, climbing from 2661 to 2801. The imaging center

Manufacturers of magnetic source imaging (MSI) devices have long struggled to find a niche for their technology in a healthcare environment focused on cost-cutting measures. In a move it hopes will strengthen its position in a small, startup market,

As expected, ultrasound contrast developer Sonus Pharmaceuticals has reorganized its marketing relationship with Abbott Laboratories International Division (SCAN 10/13/99). The two firms agreed in 1996 that Abbott would have exclusive rights to

EndoSonics received good news last month when the American Medical Association released CPT codes that will enable physicians to be reimbursed for the diagnostic use of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS). The codes go into effect Jan. 1, 2000. Prior to the