H.R. 2914, the Promoting Integrity in Medicare Act of 2013, seeks to curb overutilization of advanced diagnostic imaging by significantly narrowing the types of medical services that would fall under "in-office ancillary services" exception to the Stark Law

What consistently gets the worst marks on hospital patient-satisfaction surveys? You guessed it: Noise. A short article in this morning’s WSJ describes how some hospitals and health systems are bringing the noise level down. Strategies include replacing paging systems with electronic wristbands or headsets, allowing patients to close doors and post Do Not Disturb signs, installing sound-absorbing tiles, raising the “white noise” level, and designating sleep times during which patients are not disturbed.

InMedica forecasts the world market for PACS, RIS, and CVIS to grow by more than $1 billion over the next 5 years.

On the exhibit floor, more vendors discussed new partnerships than new technology, turning the exhibits into a kind of Game of Thrones (without the prurient interest), with alliances forming daily.

In January 2011, Canopy Partners, a management-services organization (MSO), officially spun off from Greensboro Radiology in North Carolina. The large practice had been providing business, IT, and other nonclinical services to some of its partners and was working to diversify its offerings further. Worth Saunders, MHA, CEO of Canopy Partners, says,

A new study by Georgetown's Dr. Jean Mitchell shows that self-referral for prostate biopsy pathology evaluations has increased Medicare billing, but has not improved cancer detection.

According a study published in the March issue of the journal Radiology, radiologists now have a comparable, non-ionizing option to CT for the detection of pulmonary embolism.

Technological improvements in image acquisition and software processing in nuclear cardiology should allow physicians to shave patient imaging times dramatically or cut radiation doses fourfold, according to a new preferred practice statement from the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC).

Welcome to the fifth annual radiology-group survey results. A different approach in gathering information was used this year. In the past, the survey was 100% based on submissions provided by the groups themselves. This year, the Radiology Business Journal staff researched the practice market and sought out large groups, asking them to submit information. Some entries were based on information taken from the groups’ websites. The results look complete and do represent the largest 100 radiology groups owned by radiologists in the country.