Aging imaging equipment presents a counterintuitive conundrum for facilities: even as a CT or MR system becomes less and less clinically relevant, lacking the features and power of newer models, it becomes more expensive to own and maintain. “In order for imaging equipment to be effective, it has to be utilized,” says Doug Fischer, CEO of Imaging

Comparative-effectiveness research has become the platform for several organizations, including the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER). Based at the Institute for Technology Assessment at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, ICER’s mission is to lead comparative-effectiveness–research innovation through methods that the

Randy Roat says, “The news for radiology could be worse.” Roat, vice president of radiology services for Medical Management Professionals, Inc. (MMP), Atlanta, Georgia, refers to the reimbursement changes contained in the 2011 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS). “Counterintuitively, almost every single one of the imaging RVUs was raised,” he

From a transactions perspective, 2010 was marked by a frenzy of imaging-center acquisitions on the part of hospitals. A number of factors came together to create the perfect storm of a buyer’s market for imaging centers, including uncertainty surrounding health-care reform and the opportunity for cash-strapped hospitals to augment the bottom line

It’s a challenge faced by hospitals and imaging centers alike: Upon implementing a new piece of imaging technology and under pressure to maximize utilization as quickly as possible, raising awareness among the patients most likely to take advantage of that technology becomes critical. This also represents a messaging challenge: How do you most

Radiology providers are planning to acquire more equipment this year, with the volume of such purchases expected to be up by 10% in 2011 compared to 2010, according to a new market perception study conducted by KLAS, Orem, Utah. Entitled “Diagnostic Imaging Purchases 2010: Spending Increases, Loyalty is Tested”, the study evaluates more than $200

Dow Jones & Co filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida earlier this week in an effort to overturn a 1979 court order barring access to Medicare claims data.

Clarifying earlier communications, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a transmittal updating the physician supervision regulation as mandated in the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (HOPPS) 2011 Final Rule.