Industry News

SPECT nuclear medicine scans have long been the gold standard for gauging the sluggish blood flow indicating heart disease. And angiograms are the standard tool for discovering blocked arteries. 

But now a group of Johns Hopkins University doctors suggest a combination of two ultra-high-slice CT scans can produce results nearly as accurate as both tests, with a mite less radiation and in less time.

Transaction Unites Leading Radiology Practices to Offer Enhanced Subspecialist Capabilities and Service, With 325 Affiliated Radiologists Serving Nearly 2,700 Healthcare Facilities Across United States

Virtual Radiologic to Pay $6.50 Per Share in Cash, Delivering Significant Immediate Value to NightHawk Stockholders

A new modality that captures 3-D images of the breast and which is touted to improve cancer detection faces scrutiny this week, as a U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel is set to decide whether to recommend that the agency let the device hit American markets.

Unfortunately, many physicians believe their activities are "under the radar" when it comes to fraud and abuse enforcement. A recent settlement announcement by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the Department of Health and Human Services illustrates that this is not the case.

A local patient walked around with a fractured vertebra because a radiologist reading a CT scan by computer at a remote site missed it. Another patient had intra-cranial bleeding that an on-site radiologist missed on a CT scan. Another patient got a normal bone reading on a CT scan, but actually had advanced cancer.

MILWAUKEE -- The day after the House passed the landmark health-care bill in March, St. Louis-based insurer Centene saw its stock jump 11 percent. That was perhaps the first signal that the major changes ahead would be a boon to one subset of the health-care industry: companies that manage Medicaid for the states.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has just issued a proposed rule to revise the conditions of participation for hospitals, to allow for a new privileging process for telemedicine services. CMS is asking for public comment on the proposed rule, through July 26.