Business Intelligence

Providers utilize business intelligence to monitor referral patterns and collaborate with clinicians who order their services. Such analytics tools have also been deployed in the specialty to improve productivity, track patient satisfaction and bolster quality.

Medicare Advantage insurer accused of upcoding by a whistleblower settles False Claims Act lawsuit for $22.5M
Independence Blue Cross, the largest medical insurance provider in the Philadelphia area, does not admit to wrongdoing. It was accused in a lawsuit backed by the U.S. Department of Justice of misrepresenting the severity of patient illnesses to juice risk-adjusted Medicare payments.
Housing AI company hits $4B valuation as it expands into healthcare
With its $350M in new funding, EliseAI said it plans to build out its technology and sales force. It currently works with specialty provider groups to automate practice operations such as scheduling and insurance verification.
Rural cardiology practices struggle to fill vacancies
A new survey put a spotlight on the staffing issues rural cardiology practices and health systems face on a daily basis.
Some physicians not only avoid burnout but also find fulfillment. Here’s how they do it.
Of surveyed and interviewed U.S. physicians who showed significant six-month improvement in follow-up vs. baseline wellness checks, 47% attributed the gain to active personal changes. Not far behind were those who credited active work-related changes—40% of the field.
Mayo Clinic, Thermo Fisher Scientific launch new AI-supported diagnostics company
The new entity, Precure, will be owned by both groups. Its work in detecting early disease for timely intervention stems from a research project launched this summer. The Mayo Clinic said Precure will make the results of that initiative actionable.

Functional MRI clarifies effects of vaping vs. smoking inside the lungs

Cigarette smoke inhibits pulmonary perfusion while nicotine-delivering vapors from e-cigarettes do the opposite, actually increasing blood flow in the lungs.

Ultrasound novices quickly master ‘volume sweep’ breast imaging

In a recent trial, medical students who were trained for two hours or less in an ultrasound “volume sweep” imaging (VSI) protocol obtained diagnostic-quality imaging of palpable breast lesions.

Mobile X-ray Leaps into the Future with New Innovations from Konica Minolta Healthcare

Konica Minolta Healthcare Americas, Inc. announced today that the company’s revolutionary Dynamic Digital Radiography (DDR) technology, enabling the visualization of anatomy in motion, will be available on the mKDR Xpress™ Mobile X-ray System.

CT contrast shortage seen as amplification, continuation of deep-set dynamics

The shortage of iodinated contrast media that has rattled U.S. radiology since early May didn’t come from nowhere.

The GE healthcare vScan Air was one of several point of care ultrasound (POCUS) systems on display at the ACC 2022 meeting.

Scholarly POCUS judges impressed by handheld models from GE, Philips, EchoNous

Two dozen academic physicians from around the U.S. with expertise in point-of-care ultrasound—and no vested interest in POCUS industry players—recently tested and compared four commercially available POCUS handhelds.

Lightweight, short-stature MR scanner cleared

The FDA has greenlit a whole-body MRI machine that uses deep learning and advanced image processing to wring “elevated image quality” from a magnet with only 0.55 Tesla field strength.

Another mammography team in hot water over image quality

The FDA is notifying patients and referrers of another breast-imaging service’s slide into noncompliance with regulatory standards for image quality.

POCUS access: Urban oases, rural deserts

Fewer than 40% of rural counties in the U.S. can offer residents any access to point-of-care ultrasound, while nearly 90% of their metropolitan counterparts have POCUS aplenty.

Business Intelligence

Medicare Advantage insurer accused of upcoding by a whistleblower settles False Claims Act lawsuit for $22.5M

Housing AI company hits $4B valuation as it expands into healthcare

Rural cardiology practices struggle to fill vacancies

Some physicians not only avoid burnout but also find fulfillment. Here’s how they do it.

Mayo Clinic, Thermo Fisher Scientific launch new AI-supported diagnostics company