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.

Congressional candidate physician sues hospital and doctor for death of father
Some of the claims in the lawsuit, brought against Novant Health by Kyle Horton, MD, are backed by a report from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
Industry Watcher’s Digest
HHS isn’t waiting to see what its incoming secretary does before filling some key leadership positions.
FTC, DOJ and HHS release report warning of private equity consolidation in healthcare
The agencies said private equity firms are rolling up healthcare sectors through serialized purchases that fly under the radar of regulators, creating an unsustainable level of consolidation.
Report highlights flaws in FDA rapid approval of Alzheimer drug
A new report from the Office of the Inspector General found the FDA failed to properly record meetings with drug manufacturers, ultimately approving drugs later shown to have safety and efficacy issues.
Telehealth diabetes management offering now part of Amazon marketplace
The integration was announced during the annual JP Morgan Health Care Conference in San Francisco. The program works through Amazon Benefits Manager to remotely help patients with weight and blood pressure management.

AMA Wants Congress to Postpone ICD-10 Adoption Deadline

UPDATE ON 2/16/12 — HHS has agreed to postpone the ICD-10 deadline. A new deadline has not yet been set.

Utah Bill Would Urge Rads to Include Density in Mammo Reports

Proposed legislation in Utah would urge radiologists to include information about breast density in mammogram results, according to an article in the Deseret News.

Florida Committee Rejects Transparency Bill

A bill in Florida that would have required greater cost transparency on the part of diagnostic imaging facilities and other health care providers was defeated by a Senate Committee last week.

False Positives Low for CT Lung Cancer Screening

Addressing concerns that CT imaging to screen for lung cancer would increase the number of false-positives, researchers found it actually resulted in a low rate for benign nodules.

Radiologist Referrals Generate Few High-Cost Exams

A study in the latest issue of the journal Radiology says that a radiologists recommendation accounts for only a small portion of high-cost imaging procedures.

Congress Restarts “Doc-Fix” Talks as Med Groups Weigh-In

Congressional lawmakers re-opened negotiations Tuesday over a deal to avoid deep cuts to Medicare reimbursements set to take effect March 1 based on the Sustainable Growth Rate formula.

GE Healthcare to Open New Facility in Saudi Arabia

GE Healthcare announced a memo-of-understanding this week with a Saudi Arabia firm to build a radiopharmaceutical plant and PET imaging facility in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Varian Ends First Quarter Down 1 Percent

Varian Medical Systems, the Palo Alto-based maker of oncology and X-ray equipment, announced first quarter net earnings were down 1 percent from last year.

Business Intelligence

Congressional candidate physician sues hospital and doctor for death of father

Industry Watcher’s Digest

FTC, DOJ and HHS release report warning of private equity consolidation in healthcare

Report highlights flaws in FDA rapid approval of Alzheimer drug

Telehealth diabetes management offering now part of Amazon marketplace