Policymakers are increasingly focusing on outpatient medical imaging, which has been the target of recent attacks. The latest bill from the U.S. Senate, which was released by Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) late Wednesday night, was no exception.  

WASHINGTON (Reuters), Nov 19 - U.S. Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid released a long-awaited healthcare reform plan on Wednesday that budget analysts said would extend coverage to tens of millions of the uninsured and reduce the deficit over 10 years.  

Whether a patient, referring physician, or radiology professional, it's not your imagination that recommendations for follow-up exams after an initial radiology procedure seem to be increasing. If referral patterns at Massachusetts General Hospital are typical, the number of recommendations has doubled in the past 13 years.  

WASHINGTON (Reuters), Nov 13 - One of the best ways to control U.S. healthcare spending is to pay doctors, hospitals and other health providers a single set fee for treating all aspects of a surgical procedure or a chronic disease such as diabetes, researchers said on Wednesday.  

As in other businesses, customer satisfaction can make or break a radiology practice. In the most recent Profit Center installment, Mark Weiss advises how to keep your customers happy to keep your practice successful.  

WHITE PLAINS, NY (Reuters), Nov 10 - Nowhere in the United States has more doctors at its beck and call than White Plains, one of the wealthiest cities in the nation. Nearly 3,000 miles away, scaring up a doctor in Bakersfield, situated in California's economically battered Central Valley, is a lot harder.  

WASHINGTON (Reuters), Nov 9 - After a landmark win in the House of Representatives, President Barack Obama's push for healthcare reform faces a difficult path in the Senate amid divisions in his own Democratic Party on how to proceed.  

Cardiac imaging is scheduled for reimbursement cuts -- including a 36% hack at SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) -- under the final Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for 2010. On the plus side, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) also published base rates for coronary CT angiography (CCTA) and increased cardiac PET reimbursement by about 17%.  

Restricting the number of off-hours venous duplex ultrasound studies for evaluating deep vein thrombosis (DVT) can improve resource utilization without hurting patient care, according to research published in the Annals of Vascular Surgery.  

Is physician self-referral a scourge on U.S. healthcare, in which poor-quality imaging studies drive a sharp spike in imaging overutilization? Or is it a service of convenience to patients, in which nonradiologist physicians provide trained interpretations on equipment they own or lease? The answer might surprise you.  

CHICAGO - Radiation oncology is celebrating in the Windy City this week after learning that a 19% cut in Medicare reimbursement for radiation oncology procedures won't happen after all. The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on October 30 announced new payment rates for 2010 that call for a far less severe cut in radiation oncology payments.  

The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) didn't back down from its previously announced plan to increase the utilization rate for imaging equipment from 50% to 90%. It's now going to take an act of Congress -- literally -- for medical imaging to avoid what could be severe cuts in Medicare reimbursement starting January 1, 2010.  

Using "because" and giving people a reason to support your position is extremely persuasive and can go a long way in conversations with business relationships and contract negotiations, explains Mark Weiss in Part 8 of the Profit Center series.  

WASHINGTON (Reuters), Oct 30 - Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives unveiled a broad healthcare overhaul on Thursday that would transform the insurance market, create a government-run insurance plan, and levy new taxes on the rich.  

WASHINGTON (Reuters), Oct 27 - The U.S. healthcare system is just as wasteful as President Barack Obama says it is, and proposed reforms could be paid for by fixing some of the most obvious inefficiencies, preventing mistakes and fighting fraud, according to a Thomson Reuters report released on Monday.  

An integrated radiation oncology telemedicine system has the potential to yield significant improvements in oncologic care, according to research from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.