Facility Management

PACS market records solid gains but Y2K may hamper growth rateVendors target integration, work-flow improvmentsBy most accounts, the PACS market is maturing. The benefits of the technology are well known, and medium and large healthcare

Abbott and Sonus make plans for market launchThe light at the end of a long regulatory tunnel has finally appeared for Sonus Pharmaceuticals. The Bothell, WA, company on April 19 received an approvable letter from the Food and Drug Administration

Company posts big loss for 1998Bigger isn't necessarily better in the beleaguered imaging services market. Although the market is now much less fragmented than it was three years ago, imaging center firms are still having a tough time making

Pressures on cost-containment may overshadow glow from unificationEurope has been in the headlines lately because of encouraging moves toward monetary and political union. These may represent the first steps toward the creation of a single huge

Company nears market with Definity contrast agentDu Pont Pharmaceuticals is moving into new territory with the imminent commercialization of its first ultrasound contrast agent, Definity. But the North Billerica, MA, company should not be treated

After months of intense lobbying efforts, PET advocates received good news this month when the Health Care Financing Administration agreed to expand its reimbursement coverage for PET applications. According to ADAC Laboratories of Milpitas, CA, HCFA

LifeTest deal falls through due to financing woesUltrafast CT developer Imatron shifted its corporate strategy last month when it agreed to sell its South San Francisco HeartScan coronary artery disease risk-assessment center to Imaging Technology

In a move that effectively ends U.S. Diagnostic’s activities in Texas, the imaging center chain divested its facilities in the state last month in two transactions valued at more than $23 million. USDL sought to divest the Texas centers because of

Carriers struggle to implement coverage documentPET imaging advocates rejoiced last year when the Health Care Financing Administration agreed to reimburse Medicare providers for lung cancer indications. The announcement sparked renewed interest in

Sen. Stevens may step in again if reimbursement does not materializeIt may take some effort for the nuclear medicine community to increase the number of PET applications eligible for Medicare reimbursement. At a town hall meeting in Baltimore last

Exclusion rule would bar companies from MedicareMedical device manufacturers are keeping an eye on how the U.S. government enforces a new rule on Medicare reimbursement that could have a big impact on equipment purchasing. While the rule is

Lobbyists fight for adequate contrast reimbursementIn November, the medical imaging community breathed a sigh of relief when industry advocates persuaded the Health Care Financing Administration to postpone cuts in technical reimbursement for

Firm sees potential in combo CT/PET sitesImatron took over officially as controlling shareholder of moribund PET manufacturer Positron of Houston last month. The move does not mean, however, that the South San Francisco-based supplier of ultrafast

Most companies aim products at cost-effectivenessA California company that sees the PET market as a promising opportunity for shared imaging services is gearing up for business. Mobile PET Systems of San Diego is taking delivery on two PET cameras

Company moves forward despite shareholder suitsADAC Laboratories highlighted new ventures in radiation therapy planning, nuclear medicine, and image and information management as promising areas for growth at a presentation at this month’s

Picker International’s campaign to make magnetic source imaging (MSI) a tool for routine clinical imaging received a boost last month when the Food and Drug Administration cleared the company’s Vectorview scanner. Picker hopes the FDA’s

Nuclear medicine vendors rolled into the RSNA show confident in the strength of the technology advances in their exhibits and the health of the overall market. The U.S. nuclear medicine market exhibited robust growth in 1998, with vendors predicting that

Agency shelves steep technical component pay cutsIn the face of intense industry pressure, the Health Care Financing Administration this month decided to maintain current Medicare payment levels for the technical component of outpatient imaging

Company restructures to reduce high cash-burn rateUltrasound contrast developer Molecular Biosystems of San Diego announced a corporate restructuring this month to slow the rate at which the company is burning cash. The move poses troubling

Company must work on getting reimbursement for productThe Food and Drug Administration this month dispelled any notion that it might be dragging its feet on the approval of ultrasound contrast agents when it gave the go-ahead on Nov. 3 to Bracco

The Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) appears to have stepped back from its plan to cut Medicare payments for outpatient medical imaging procedures. In the Nov. 2 Federal Register, the agency published its decision to maintain current

HCFA tightens control on reimbursementsAfter years of threatening to curb outpatient healthcare costs, the Health Care Financing Administration has finally put some bite into its bark. Over the last five months, HCFA has published two rules in the

PET unit installed at private hospital in HawaiiJapanese photomultiplier tube supplier Hamamatsu Photonics is pursuing the research side of positron emission tomography with a new PET camera the company has installed at an imaging center in

Physician practice management firm American Physician Partners continues its imaging center buying binge. The Dallas company announced last month that it acquired the four imaging centers of WB&A Imaging, a 15-physician radiology practice in

Imaging center firm HealthCare Imaging Services of Middletown, NJ, plans to beef up its presence in its home state by acquiring five imaging centers. The aggregate purchase price of the centers is $21 million, and HCIS expects the facilities to generate