After a 90-day comment period elapsed, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced in late September that it will begin reimbursing PET scans for some patients with suspected Alzheimer's disease.
Coverage is limited to patients who have atypical symptoms that cannot be clinically distinguished as Alzheimer's or a frontotemporal dementia such as Pick's disease. CMS determined that PET scans would be useful in distinguishing between Alzheimer's and the other conditions in terms of patterns of degeneration, but it stopped short of concluding that such scans could conclusively identify Alzheimer's on their own.
To qualify, patients must have demonstrated cognitive decline for at least six months and show symptoms of both conditions with no clinically clear cause.
Shaping the Future of Radiology in 2025: Trends, Threats, and Opportunities
January 10th 2025How do we respond to challenges with staff recruitment, cybersecurity, and looming hospital takeovers in radiology? This author assesses key trends in radiology and offers key insights to stay competitive in the field.
The Reading Room: Artificial Intelligence: What RSNA 2020 Offered, and What 2021 Could Bring
December 5th 2020Nina Kottler, M.D., chief medical officer of AI at Radiology Partners, discusses, during RSNA 2020, what new developments the annual meeting provided about these technologies, sessions to access, and what to expect in the coming year.