Facility Management

The mention of teleradiology companies can prompt worry and fear about lost jobs and revenue in even the most established radiology offices. Here's what you need to know to leverage against the trend and protect your practice.

Can you view medical images directly from your electronic health record? William Corbett, MD, vice president of community practices for UMass Memorial Health Care, discusses the center's decision to implement a system to allow just that, and the benefits they've expereinced so far.

The volume of advanced imaging services for Medicare patients dipped for the first time in 11 years - a trend advocates say could point to patient access issues and lead to higher costs.

Can computerized decision support systems reduce unnecessary advanced imaging tests and radiation exposure? That’s what planners of the Medicare Imaging Demonstration (MID) project hope to find out in their two-year study. CMS last week announced the selection of five participants in the study, which was authorized by the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008.

Showing medical students a pair of contrasting normal and pathophysiology radiological cases, can make physiology more relevant and provide active learning, according to an article published in the February issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology.

It was a long regulatory road for the software developers, but the FDA this week finally cleared the first mobile app for diagnostic radiology. The app, developed by Cleveland-based MIM Software Inc., received 510(k) clearance, becoming the first approved for viewing images and making medical diagnoses based on CT, MRI, and nuclear medical technology.

In a new guideline, the American College of Physicians said there was strong evidence that routine X-ray, CT scan, or MRI for low back pain doesn’t improve patients’ health. Instead, those tests should be given only to patients with severe or progressive neurological deficits, who are suspected of having a serious or specific condition, or who are candidates for invasive interventions.

Electronic health records (EHRs) and clinical decision support (CDS) do not appear to improve the quality of clinical care, according to a study published online Jan. 24 in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

The first incentive checks are being delivered under CMS’s meaningful use program for electronic health records. But for many radiologists, the program is just now coming into focus. Here's what you should be doing now.

The new ACO model could dramatically affect how radiologists practice, and now’s the time to get involved in the process. Dr. Steven Gerst, MD, MBA, MPH, CHE, vice president of medical affairs at technology company MedCurrent, sheds some light on ACOs and what radiologists should be doing now to prepare.

Maryland’s highest court ruled to uphold the state’s self-referral law - a major win for radiology professionals.

The FDA this week outlined a plan to improve the path to market for medical devices, including streamlining the review for low-risk devices and clarifying when clinical data should be submitted. The agency is deferring some of the contentious decisions, giving the Institute of Medicine a chance to provide feedback on seven recommendations.

CMS has plans to implement changes to Medicare’s Provider Enrollment, Chain and Ownership Systems (PECOS), which is used to enroll physicians into Medicare. Under the impending changes, CMS will deny claims for services ordered or referred by a physician who doesn’t have a PECOS file. That, of course, means no payment.

High utilizers of advanced medical imaging beware: the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) just voted 15-1 this month to recommend to Congress that the top tier of referrers of advanced medical imaging should get prior authorization first.

It’s a question practices should be asking in the wake of the news that a server containing personal patient and billing information was breached at a radiology practice in Rochester, N.H. It’s the latest security breach made public under the HITECH Act’s security breach notification rules.

Physicians are not always the first adopters of new technology, and the use of Web content is no exception. Of course, most of our business has no direct correlation with information from the Web, but that does not mean that having a Web site is not a great addition to the practice.

Aching hands and a sore back are often familiar ailments for those working in a digital imaging department. However, there is a trend among radiology practices and hospitals to provide workstations that are far more comfortable.

Starting January 1st, referring physicians who provide in-office imaging services must provide their patients with a list of other options in their area. It’s probably a good time to make sure your practice is on that list.

Transvaginal ultrasound demonstrates good sensitivity and specificity for detecting endometrial cancer, a study from the University College, London. finds. But that doesn’t mean it’s suited for use in the general population just yet. The researchers found transvaginal ultrasound is better for high-risk groups prone to endometrial cancer, and especially in the management of postmenopausal women undergoing pelvic scans for reasons other than vaginal bleeding.

A significant decision regarding these standards looms over us now - how to incentivize or discourage certain behavior. There is not a right or wrong answer to this. The group needs to decide when and how hard the rubber meets the road. In our minds, our options include publication of statistics either anonymously or openly, hoping for behavior modification; escalation of punishment for failure to meet a standard, by financial or other penalties; or incentives for those performing best.

Laura and her husband Paul landed in Boston to begin a whirlwind tour of several major East Coast cities in celebration of their second wedding anniversary. As a Brit, Laura most looked forward to touring the sites of the city that helped ignite the American Revolution. Following a bowl of “chowda” and a few pictures along the Charles River, they would bid farewell to Beantown and headed toward the bright lights of the Big Apple.

Dose reduction at one time played second fiddle to image quality, but today it enjoys top billing. New algorithms are coming into play in CT, radiography, and fluoroscopy to maintain image quality at traditional levels by processing out the noise that sneaks in during low-dose exams. In some cases, fear of radiation has gotten so bad that patients forego CT and other sources of ionizing radiation all together.

Historically, radiologists have been leaders in the adoption of new technologies. The first radiology computer-assisted coding (CAC) product went into commercial production in early 2000. Since that time, hundreds of millions of radiology reports have been coded and audited using CAC.

The Virtual Radiologic and NightHawk merger has some experts worrying about jobs, referral issues, a delays in care.

It's been a bit more than a decade since teleradiology really started to take off in the U.S. Fed by a radiologist shortage in the early 2000s and a desire by many practices to shed their night call work.

Self-referral of imaging services by non-radiologists doesn’t necessarily benefit patients, and can lead to overuse and increased spending. Those are the conclusions of a series of studies published this week in the December issue of Health Affairs.

Despite the increasing popularity of blood testing for colorectal cancer, radiologists don’t have to worry CT colonography will be replaced just yet, according to experts.

Doctors’ groups, including the AMA and several specialty organizations, have lobbied aggressively to ensure that healthcare providers were not included under the law. The efforts, it turns out, were successful.

Linda could not shake the pesky cough and congestion that had settled into her chest. She knew a quick trip to the doctor was the most prudent course of action but couldn't afford it. When she finally had to go to the emergency room, she received three imaging examinations in succession for a common ailment that could easily have been diagnosed by a physical exam and laboratory tests alone.

Minnesota is in the vanguard as far as implementing clinical decision support, a tool that tamps down overutilization and reduces the incidence of patients receiving inappropriate diagnostic imaging tests. Minnesota is launching a statewide initiative to adopt the tool; others states are also considering its use.