The services and allowed charges by cardiologists for treating Medicare patients increased dramatically between 1999 and 2008, according to an analysis published online Jan. 10 in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. Much of the growth was linked to noninvasive imaging, with resting echocardiograms and nuclear stress testing fueling the lion’s share of growth.
In the wake of the passage of the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA), there were concerns that advanced imaging procedures would shift from private offices to hospital outpatient departments and that access would be restricted. According to a study in the January issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology, while there hasn’t been a large shift away from offices toward hospitals, the DRA did affect imaging volume and seems to have resulted in some loss of access to nuclear medicine.
The CHEST Foundation has awarded a Roswell Park Cancer Institute research team a $100,000 grant to develop a blood test to help diagnose lung cancer in patients before they undergo a biopsy.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has informed the American College of Radiology that “operational limitations” will prevent them from applying the imaging professional component Multiple Procedure Payment Reduction (MPPR) to group practices beginning Jan. 1, 2012. Therefore, CMS will not apply the professional component MPPR for imaging services performed by separate physicians in the same group practice for 2012.
The U.S. House of Representative passed the Middle Class Tax Relief & Job Creation Act (H.R. 3630) Dec. 13. Among other things, H.R. 3630 prevents an across the board 27 percent cut to Medicare physician reimbursement statutorily required by the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula. The bill provides physicians with a 1 percent increase in Medicare payments for 2012 and 2013.
Awards |
Wednesday, December 14
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has named Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City as a Center for Quantitative Imaging Excellence for its research in cancer screening, treatment and follow-up care, specifically with modalities such as mammography, PET, CT and MRI.
Siemens Healthcare debuted an array of imaging and informatics advances at the 97th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) in Chicago Nov. 27 to Dec. 2.
CHICAGO--Though bone metastases in neuroendocrine tumors are usually sclerotic with increased bone volume, CT alone depicts only 43 percent of Ga-68-DOTATOC/DOTANOC-positive bone lesions, according to a retrospective analysis presented Nov. 29 at the Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
CHICAGO--Image interpretation will need to include quantitative analysis in the future, according to a session on Nov. 30 at the 97th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
CHICAGO—Due to changes in CPT coding and fee schedules that have reduced reimbursement for stress tests and coronary CT angiography (CCTA) in the 2009 through 2011 Medicare fee schedules, triage strategies that begin with stress EKG or stress echocardiography and progress to CCTA (if the stress test is positive) represent the least expensive options, and are more cost-effective relative to strategies that utilize myocardial perfusion scintigraphy, according to a study presented Nov. 30 at the 97th annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
CHICAGO--The unsustainable cost trajectory in healthcare is well-known, but much less understood are strategies for practices to thrive as government and payors step up efforts to bend the cost curve. Experts examined the drivers and impacts of the cost curve conundrum during a session on Nov. 28 at the 97th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
CHICAGO—Communicating radiation dose exposure information is a process fraught with landmines. Experts offered a host of strategies for navigating the landmines and sharing dose information with patients during a Nov. 27 session at the 97th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
CHICAGO--With atherosclerosis-related diseases estimated to cost more than $500 billion in the U.S. in 2010, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of vascular disease are critical priorities. Existing and emerging imaging tools show great promise in helping the diagnosis of atherosclerosis, said Zahi A. Fayad, PhD, professor of radiology and cardiology at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, during the opening session panel at the 97th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) on Nov. 27.
CHICAGO—A few days shy of the 20th anniversary of performing his first CT angiogram (CTA) on Dec. 10, 1991, Geoffrey D. Rubin, MD, chair of radiology at Duke University in Durham, N.C., pondered the question: Has CT grown up? His answer is no, and he outlined three areas where CT will demonstrate further applicability in disease management, during the opening session panel of the 97th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
Radiologists’ recommendations for follow-up imaging generated 5.3 percent of chest and abdominal CT, brain and lumbar spine MRI and body PET exams, with pulmonary nodule evaluation identified as the most common cause for follow-up imaging, according to a study published online Nov. 15 in Radiology.
Scripps Proton Therapy Center in San Diego has started the installation of the region’s first cyclotron, which delivers proton therapy.
The U.K. House of Commons issued a report Oct. 12 detailing multiple concerns with National Health Service’s (NHS) oversight of MRI, CT and linear accelerator purchasing and operations.
National Imaging Associates, a subsidiary of Magellan Health Services, has started a two-year demonstration study to assess the appropriate use of advanced imaging for Medicare Fee-for-Service beneficiaries. The research will examine the impact of physician decision support tools on mitigating the inappropriate use of MRI, CT and nuclear medicine.
Imaging cuts in the administration’s deficit reduction proposal would restrict patient access to care and may actually raise costs, according to the American College of Radiology (ACR). The college has urged the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to reject the Obama administration’s imaging recommendations and work with the ACR and other imaging stakeholders to create policies that ensure safe, appropriate care, promote quality and protect patient access.
The rates of new lung cancer cases in the U.S. dropped among men in 35 states and among women in six states between 1999 and 2008, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Among women, lung cancer incidence decreased nationwide between 2006 and 2008, after increasing steadily for decades. Smoking cessation fueled the decline and other data have suggested CT screening could motivate smokers to quit.
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