ACR readies Cardiac CT certification

ACR readies Cardiac CT certification
Practitioners of cardiac CT can document their proficiency to third-party payers and their institutions this fall with the launch by the American College of Radiology’s of its Cardiac CT Certificate of Advanced Proficiency Examination. Set to be offered quarterly, the exam will be open to all physicians who meet basic and professional experience requirements set by the ACR.  Containing a practical, case-based component, as well as a knowledge-based multiple-choice section, the four-hour exam will be given at the new ACR Education Center in Reston, VA.

CoActiv reaches out to distributors
In an effort to build a national network of medical imaging resellers, low-cost IT/PACS provider CoActiv has sent out feelers to  organizations that “share its commitment to advanced technology, quality service and marketing success.” The company already supplies products to New York Imaging Services in Newburgh, NY.  CoActiv’s portfolio ranges from EXAM-PACS, a full-featured enterprise PACS, EXAM-ESSENTIALS, an economic image management product designed for medical practices, and EXAM-VAULT, an off-site archiving service.  CoActiv sales have tripled during the first quarter of 2009 compared to the previous quarter, according to the company, a surge that Ed Heere, president and CEO of CoActiv, attributes to practitioners “seeking out reasonably priced digital solutions during these challenging economic times.

GE strikes health IT alliance
GE Healthcare and InterComponentWare will integrate and co-develop health information exchange under an alliance designed particularly to improve the interoperability of GE’s Centricity IT system. Centricity connects, stores and shares clinical data from healthcare providers including hospitals, physician offices, pharmacies and medical labs. By improving the connection of disparate healthcare technology systems, GE plans to increase quality of care and access, while lowering costs, according to the company.  InterComponentWare has more than ten years of R&D in electronic health information interoperability.  Its eHealth Infrastructure has been applied by medical organizations in Austria, Germany, and Bulgaria.