Quality

The focus of quality improvement in healthcare is to bolster performance and processes related to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Leaders in this space also ensure the proper selection of imaging exams and procedures, and monitor the safety of services, among other duties. Reimbursement programs such as the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) utilize financial incentives to improve quality. This also includes setting and maintaining care quality initiatives, such as the requirements set by the Joint Commission.

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Real-time Analytics Help VCU Health’s Radiologists Improve Efficiency, Productivity

Sponsored by Change Healthcare

Sharon Gibbs, director of the radiology department at VCU Health in Richmond, Virginia, aims to provide quality, timely and efficient care. To do so, she must define, analyze and track the metrics and quality needs of her large care providing team, which consists of more than 40 faculty radiologists, over 200 technologists, and numerous other stakeholders. Gibbs knew that a single analytics solution would enable her to gather data more quickly.

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Q&A: Thorough Imaging Assessments Help Healthcare Providers Achieve Maximum Results

Sponsored by Change Healthcare

Change Healthcare is primarily known for its state-of-the-art technology and business solutions, but the company also provides consulting services, including overall assessments of an organization’s overall business health. Sometimes, healthcare providers know they need help keeping up with the rest of the industry, but need to be pointed in the right direction before they can get started; that’s where Change Healthcare enters the equation.

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ASTRO 2018: Radiation therapy makes low recurrence rates among some breast cancer patients even lower

Radiation therapy can lower the chance of cancer recurrence in patients with low-risk breast cancer following breast conservation surgery, according to data presented Oct. 21 at the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas.

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Study: C. diff risks lie in laundry practices

Strains of C. diff—a bacteria that can cause inflammation of the colon—can survive commercial laundry practices in hospitals, according to a recent study published in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology.

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Physicians ordering low-value screening tests: What can be done?

Primary care physicians who order a large number of one low-value screening test tend to order large numbers of other low-value screening tests as well, according to a new study published in JAMA Network Open. The authors suggested that high-intensity interventions focused on these physicians may be one way to reduce such low-value care going forward.

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High-dose radiation therapy improves survival for patients with ‘incurable’ cancer

Researchers have found that high-dose radiation therapy can improve survival for oligometastatic patients, according to findings to be presented at the 2018 Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

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Indictments handed down in $1B telemedicine fraud scheme

The Department of Justice indicted four men and seven companies for their roles in a $1 billion healthcare fraud scheme and announced plea deals and another charge.

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Aetna, Humana settle fines for information breach, coverage gaps

Two major healthcare insurers, Aetna and Humana, are set to dole out hundreds of thousands of dollars to settle separate disputes over health information disclosures and inadequate network coverage.