Imaging Leaders Digital Community
CMS committee not yet swayed on brain amyloid PET imaging
January 31, 2013 -- A U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) advisory committee said on Wednesday that more studies are needed to confirm the efficacy of Eli Lilly and Avid Radiopharmaceuticals' Amyvid radiopharmaceutical for brain beta-amyloid PET imaging.
How to take action against radiology threats: Part 1
 January 31, 2013 -- In this two-part series, Dr. David C. Levin and Dr. Vijay Rao of Thomas Jefferson University outline actions that radiologists can take to address threats to the specialty. In part 1, Rao outlines 12 steps that radiologists can take to protect themselves.
Radiology administrators worried about reimbursement
 January 31, 2013 -- Radiology administrators are confident that their internal costs will remain constant and their practices will maintain or increase growth in the coming months, according to first-quarter 2013 data from the Medical Imaging Confidence Index. Confidence plummets over Medicare imaging reimbursement, however.
JACR: Cost awareness doesn't slow use of hospital imaging
January 23, 2013 -- Do referring physicians order fewer imaging tests if they know how much the scans cost? No, according to a new study by researchers from Johns Hopkins University that was published online in the Journal of the American College of Radiology.
Mary's Musings: Imaging management and the new paradigm
 January 22, 2013 -- I had the nightmare of diagnosing my mother's terminal cancer myself, and she was dead within the week. This was after months of state-of-the-art care rendered by doctors at an esteemed academic medical center. How could this have happened in this millennium?
Take 2: Techs opt to repeat more head scans than radiologists
 January 21, 2013 -- Maybe they're perfectionists: A new study from McGill University in Montreal found that radiologic technologists wanted to repeat far more head CT scans than radiologists, who seem more willing to put up with image noise and artifacts.
SGR patch, 2013 edition: What just happened?
 January 17, 2013 -- It's become a recurring end-of-year political drama: Congress scrambles to ward off massive cuts to Medicare reimbursement with a temporary patch of the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula. But this year's SGR theatrics came to a shocking climax: a stab in the back for radiology.
Most radiologists don't meet Medicare quality reporting rules
 January 8, 2013 -- More than three-quarters of radiologists are not meeting requirements of the Medicare Physician Quality Reporting System, according to a study to be published in the February issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology. The shortfall could expose radiologists to penalties starting in 2015.
Use of imaging in inpatient setting lags overall growth
January 8, 2013 -- Use of noninvasive diagnostic imaging in the hospital inpatient setting lagged overall imaging growth from 2000 to 2010, and the share of imaging being done on an inpatient basis dropped from 32% to 25%, said Dr. Vijay Rao from Thomas Jefferson University.
New technologies drive Medicare breast screening costs higher
January 7, 2013 -- Medicare costs for breast screening are being driven higher by new technologies such as digital mammography and computer-aided detection, which are being adopted in spite of limited data on their effectiveness, according to a study published on Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine.
SBRT halves cost vs. IMRT for prostate cancer
January 3, 2013 -- As members of Congress grapple over ways to reduce the U.S. budget, the publication on December 27 in the American Journal of Clinical Oncology of a complex model analyzing the costs of radiation therapy for prostate cancer seems particularly timely.
House signs off on SGR bill with $800M in imaging cuts
January 2, 2013 -- The U.S. House of Representatives voted on January 1 to approve the Senate's fiscal cliff bill that averts a 27% reimbursement cut due to the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula. But the legislation also includes $800 million in Medicare cuts to advanced medical imaging services -- on top of additional cuts proposed in 2012.
Senate passes another SGR cut delay
January 1, 2013 -- As part of legislation that would raise tax rates on the wealthy, the U.S. Senate voted to delay for one year the implementation of the Medicare physician payment formula, averting a 27% cut in physician payments that was scheduled to begin January 1.
Are radiologists entrepreneurial? Not so much
December 21, 2012 -- For years, radiology has been among the higher-earning physician specialties, and radiologists have often been thought of as entrepreneurial. But how close is this perception to reality? Researchers from Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals discussed the topic at the RSNA 2012 meeting.
ACR Select moves ahead with debut at RSNA 2012
 December 18, 2012 -- If you were at RSNA 2012, you may have missed the small green booth along the edge of the South Building exhibit floor in McCormick Place. But ACR Select's debut RSNA appearance was an important harbinger of the progress the project is making in trying to solve the problem of inappropriate medical imaging utilization.
Is proton therapy worth the cost for prostate cancer?
December 17, 2012 -- Is the use of proton therapy for localized prostate cancer worth the cost? A national study of 30,000 men suggests it might not be. Findings were published online December 14 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
CMS proposal could ease payment path for oncology PET tracers
December 14, 2012 -- The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) this week proposed a new policy that could make it easier for new oncology PET tracers to win reimbursement. PET advocates are disappointed, however, that the change won't apply to tracers used for neurology and cardiology applications.
Chest x-ray use remains stable as high-tech modalities soar
 December 12, 2012 -- While utilization of high-tech imaging modalities soared and then slipped over the past decade, use of the humble chest x-ray has continued at a relatively stable rate, researchers found in a study presented at the RSNA 2012 conference.
Half of radiologists will be sued by age 60, study suggests
December 7, 2012 -- The chances of a radiologist being the defendant in at least one medical malpractice suit is 50% by age 60, but the difference in frequency and average number of suits varies by state and sex, according to a new study published online in Radiology.
Mary's Musings: Head in the clouds at RSNA 2012
December 6, 2012 -- Not very long ago, it seems, I went to my first RSNA meeting. I was really impressed -- and I still am! Each year at RSNA, one gets a chance to peek ahead into the future: and ours is data. Data will allow us to step out of our black box of radiology and into our roles as physicians again.
Techs often bear brunt of media misinformation about imaging
November 30, 2012 -- CHICAGO - Do you remember the ruckus last year when television celebrity Dr. Mehmet Oz recommended on the "Dr. Oz Show" the use of thyroid shields during mammograms? While Oz appears to have changed his tune, social media continues to promote this misconception, according to an ASRT @ RSNA presentation at the RSNA meeting.
Only half of patients identify radiologists as physicians
November 29, 2012 -- CHICAGO - Barely half of patients understand that radiologists are "real" doctors, a new poll of more than 300 individuals revealed. Researchers from Indiana presented the findings on Wednesday at the RSNA meeting.
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