Economics

This channel highlights factors that impact hospital and healthcare economics and revenue. This includes news on healthcare policies, reimbursement, marketing, business plans, mergers and acquisitions, supply chain, salaries, staffing, and the implementation of a cost-effective environment for patients and providers.

Why more doctors should pursue business and leadership training
“Just as medicine has its own language, so does business," two surgeons explained in a new editorial.
Q&A: The role of employers in achieving healthcare price transparency
An exclusive interview with Hal Andrews, President and CEO of Trilliant Health, on the topic of price transparency and how regulators and companies can contain costs for patients.
Medtronic’s diabetes spin-off gets a name, kicking off ‘new and exciting chapter’
The new name will be familiar to anyone who knows the history of Medtronic's diabetes business.
UnitedHealthcare caves to pressure, exempting some imaging services from cost-cutting program
The country’s largest insurer launched its Designated Diagnostic Provider program in 2022, steering beneficiaries to imaging centers that meet quality and efficiency requirements.
A new payer tactic: Using AI to curtail routine radiology claims, after imaging is already delivered
“Unlike [prior authorization], this model does not delay patient care and does not hold members liable to pay for unneeded exams,” writes radiologist Mark Hiatt, MD, MBA.

A definable under/over line separates paying from non-paying patients

Patients who owe providers $500 or less in out-of-pocket expenses tend to pay down the bill. Those who owe more than $500 are evidently inclined to ignore collections efforts and pay nothing at all.

Medical imaging vendor Carestream laying off 200-plus employees, closing facility

The decision is due to reduced production volumes, the high cost of site infrastructure and opportunities to streamline shipping.

Left, the FIRE1 heart failure remote monitoring device that gets implanted into the IVC to measure fluid volume status. Right, the external belt monitoring device worn by the patient that can alert clinicians about status changes so interventions can be done before a patient requires a hospital admission.

Early feasibility study for implantable heart failure monitor moves forward

Startup vendor FIRE1 completed patient enrollment in its U.S. early feasibility study for a heart failure remote monitoring device that directly measures fluid volume inside the IVC.

Investor-backed diagnostic imaging provider Affidea scores $216M in growth capital

The radiology group executed 14 acquisitions last year, adding 24 new imaging centers to its network for a total of 355.

Radiology Partners’ restructuring reduces its debt by 20% or $600M, Moody’s estimates

That would leave RP’s current obligations at about $2.4 billion, with debt maturities now extended by several years.

RadNet enters first new market since 2020, acquiring 7 imaging centers

The M&A deal is with Houston Medical Imaging, which performed over 135,000 procedures last year, producing $28M in revenue.

Lawsuit accuses radiology AI vendor MIM Software of patent theft

Progenics Pharmaceuticals Inc. claims MIM stole its patents and used them to help entice GE HealthCare to buy the company in January.

Policy advisors: America’s ‘crisis in rural maternity care’ cries out for attention

Maternity care is in danger of vanishing from rural communities across the U.S., and two addressable if not reversible trends largely account for the peril.

Economics

Why more doctors should pursue business and leadership training

Q&A: The role of employers in achieving healthcare price transparency

Medtronic’s diabetes spin-off gets a name, kicking off ‘new and exciting chapter’

UnitedHealthcare caves to pressure, exempting some imaging services from cost-cutting program

A new payer tactic: Using AI to curtail routine radiology claims, after imaging is already delivered