Facility Management

Responding in part to concerns that screening mammography exposes women to unnecessary radiation, Sweden-based Sectra has developed a work-in-progress digital system that it claims can reduce x-ray exposure by up to 80%.The system, which has not been

Comprehensive Medical Imaging (CMI), a wholly owned subsidiary of radiopharmaceutical firm Syncor, has completed its acquisition of 13 imaging centers from U.S. Diagnostic, which is getting out of the imaging center business (SCAN,

While many publicly traded healthcare technology companies are struggling to satisfy investors these days, Agfa-Gevaert has definitely seized the opportunity provided by its 1999 IPO. The company is reporting better-than-expected financials again for the

Agfa bolsters Asian PACS presence with new management and strategyCooke to head up global Impax business groupWhile many publicly traded healthcare technology companies are struggling to satisfy investors these days, Agfa-Gevaert has

Toshiba America Medical Systems has restructured its sales and marketing organization, creating a matrix system with a strategic focus on end users running across all imaging modalities, according to Scott Eaton, director of the imaging center market

The American College of Radiology has halted efforts to move payment for screening mammography out of congressional control and into Medicare's relative value scale (RVS).Congress mandated reimbursement for screening mammography by Medicare and private

Japan is finally lifting its long-standing barriers to foreign imports, a move that could mean hundreds of millions of dollars more each year in sales to that country.U.S. trade officials have been negotiating for three years to change Japan's pricing

Despite the financial struggles of several large providers of imaging services in the U.S., the market for outpatient imaging centers and other shared imaging services remains healthy this year. Procedural growth may be slowing slightly, but it is still

The Health Care Financing Administration has granted Acuson’s AcuNav diagnostic ultrasound catheter pass-through Medicare reimbursement status for outpatient procedures, paving the way for its introduction into the electrophysiology market.The

HIS firms struggle for profits despite $20 billion market projectionsSome blame the BBA, others point finger at industry itselfWhat is ailing the health information systems (HIS) industry? Midyear financials are in, and despite

Hitachi Medical will be the exclusive distributor of ADAC Laboratories’ PET systems in Japan, the companies announced late last month. The distribution arrangement expands upon an agreement between ADAC and Hitachi that was struck last

Spacelabs targets consumers with new Web-based productsMonitoring firm launches blood pressure siteLike its longtime rival Agilent, Spacelabs Medical is busy Web- and wireless-enabling its standard patient monitoring and related product

Members of AdvaMed told the House Commerce Committee’s subcommittee on health and environment last month that new medical technologies are reaching patients too slowly because of delays in the Health Care Financing Administration’s coding,

Companies say patients are the ones hurt by rulesDespite the looming deadline, contrast media companies still hope to persuade the Health Care Financing Administration that contrast media is a valuable imaging device worthy of its own codes

19 radiologists could be jailed for backdating MR machine orders As many as 19 Australian radiologists could face criminal charges in what is being called the biggest Medicare fraud in that country's history, but the federal investigation may

Deal opens door to bone densitometry and dedicated MRI GE Medical Systems has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Lunar of Madison, WI. The acquisition, announced June 2 and scheduled to close within 60 to 90 days, promises to transform

Interest in e-health boosting telehealth products and apps Telemedicine shows renewed spirit at ATA meeting Boosted by advances in Internet-based health services and applications, the telemedicine industry has found new momentum,

Some companies founder, while others take off Just when some industry executives see boom times ahead for freestanding diagnostic imaging centers, some imaging companies are struggling to stay in business. New Medicare reimbursement rules

Company hopes to take advantage of HCFA rules changes A lease buyout from GE, a growth plan for increasing the daily number of scans at its imaging centers, and a streamlining of inventory have given InSight Health Services healthy results in

Hospitals, equipment vendors, and pharmaceutical companies are waiting for the Health Care Financing Administration, the U.S. agency that operates Medicare, to release a list that will tell them whether their products and services receive full or

Healthcare information technology vendors and consulting firms may find themselves running fast just to stay in place over the next few years. Core markets are saturated, hospitals have less money to spend, and CIOs are focused on compliance with the

Analysts forecast slower growth in 2000 Healthcare information technology vendors and consulting firms may find themselves running fast just to stay in place over the next few years. Core markets

Healthcare facilities should begin planning to implement digital radiography, including a full digital information infrastructure such as a PACS. So says the latest edition of the Health Technology Forecast, which offers specific recommendations

During deregulation talks in March, Clinton administration trade officials urged members of Japan’s Ministry of Health and Welfare in Tokyo to expedite the process by which American companies sell new and improved medical equipment.As part of last

Mobile P.E.T. Systems of San Diego unveiled the first mobile cardiac positron emission tomography unit March 12 at the American College of Cardiology meeting in Anaheim, CA, and is starting its first service route in April in the Los Angeles area.The

Nuclear cardiac perfusion studies are growing “by leaps and bounds,” according to an industry analyst, while cardiac MR and cardiac CT hover around 1% of total studies in those modalities.In 1993, cardiac perfusion studies made up only 38% of

Florida, home of Epcot and NASA, is about to launch the largest filmless imaging center in the U.S. While other facilities may process more images annually, the Pensacola imaging center, a new 36,000-square-foot freestanding edifice, ranks as the largest

Telemedicine market projected to grow 20% in 2000New report analyzes growth factors, business opportunitiesContrary to the nagging perception of telemedicine as an industry that has yet to get off the ground, the global telemedicine

Standards Update: Integrating systems outside the radiology departmentHerman Oosterwijk, president, OTech Inc.The first meeting of the new DICOM Working Group 20, a joint DICOM/HL7 committee that deals

Industry predictions proved correct last month when GE Medical Systems received premarket approval from the Food and Drug Administration for its full-field digital mammography unit, Senographe 2000D. The news made GE the first company to win the right to