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.

Lantheus misled investors about blockbuster imaging agent, class action lawsuit claims
Plaintiff attorneys claim the Massachusetts-based company shattered the competitive position of Pylarify, a PET imaging agent for prostate cancer.
American College of Radiology touts key imaging provisions in House spending bill
"We urge Congress to pass final legislation that reflects this approach and retains ACR-backed provisions that can save lives," CEO Dana Smetherman, MD, MPH, MBA, said Sept. 10.
GE HealthCare to acquire Alzheimer’s imaging AI firm Icometrix
Founded in 2011 and based in Belgium, the AI firm offers the first software for automating brain assessments needed to administer disease therapies from Biogen and Eli Lilly.
Internet searches reveal skyrocketing interest in POCUS implementation
New data align with a rise in intrigue around bedside point-of-care ultrasound to address growing patient demand.
ASNC calls on members to fight 57% Medicare cut for cardiac amyloid imaging
Jamieson M. Bourque, MD, MHS, president-elect of the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology, shared the group's concerns with Cardiovascular Business. “This is going to have a highly negative impact," he said.

ACR seeks congressional support for Medicare coverage of CT colon cancer screening

Roughly 30 U.S. senators and congressional representatives were sought to cosponsor the CT Colonography Screening for Colorectal Cancer Act of 2017—H.R. 1298—at a Capitol Hill briefing on Wednesday, Sept. 12. The meeting was sponsored by the American College of Radiology (ACR) and the Colorectal Cancer Alliance, according to an ACR press release.

Improved price transparency can save radiology departments revenue, boost patient satisfaction

Providing patients with an accurate estimate of out-of-pocket costs before imaging services take place can decrease lost revenue and increase patient satisfaction, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American College of Radiology.

Cigna venture fund to invest in innovative healthcare companies

Cigna is launching a venture fund that will be dedicated to investing in companies with innovative and transformative plans for healthcare.

Medicare spends $400M a year on prostate cancer treatment for elderly men

Despite national guidelines advising against prostate cancer screening in men 70 or older, researchers from the University of North Carolina (UNC) Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center found that prostate cancer care for this demographic costs Medicare more than $400 million a year, according to a study published Sept. 13 in JAMA Oncology.

Medicaid expansion doesn’t improve minority access to complex surgical care

Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) failed to improve access to care for minorities and low-income patients with complex surgical needs, researchers reported in the Sept. 13 online edition of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

Imaging, urgent care facility opening in Maine mall hopes to lower costs

Central Maine Healthcare (CMH) in Lewiston recently announced plans to open an outpatient care facility inside a mall in southern Maine—offering imaging services and urgent care, according to the Sun Journal. The system believes its model can lower healthcare costs in the region.

FDA announces ‘historic enforcement actions’ against e-cigarette industry

The FDA is launching “the largest coordinated tobacco compliance effort” in the agency’s history, according to a 3,493-word statement from Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, released on Sept. 12.

Reselling diabetes test strips an unregulated ‘gray market’ in US

It is legal to resell unexpired strips as long as they weren’t fraudulently purchased through Medicare or Medicaid. This has led to cash offers for unused testing strips online and on social media, as well as resell operations popping up in garages and basements, the Chicago-Sun Times reported.

Economics

Lantheus misled investors about blockbuster imaging agent, class action lawsuit claims

American College of Radiology touts key imaging provisions in House spending bill

GE HealthCare to acquire Alzheimer’s imaging AI firm Icometrix

Internet searches reveal skyrocketing interest in POCUS implementation

ASNC calls on members to fight 57% Medicare cut for cardiac amyloid imaging