Congress passed the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA) in 2014 with the intent of reducing expensive, unnecessary imaging orders. Five years later, the legislation is set to enter a testing period, with CMS still undecided on when penalties will begin. A new investigation published by NPR asks if the delays have had an impact on patients.

Point-of-Care ultrasound is now routinely used wherever a patient in need happens to be. In the midst of it all, radiologists and ER doctors are looking for ways to collaborate rather than compete.

Radiologists’ pay-raise rates are flat. Administrators are working hard to earn bonuses. Lots of technologists are looking for new opportunities, and few PACS pros are skimping on time off (but not many are overdoing it either). See the numbers behind the factoids in the tabulated results of the 2019 RBJ Salary Survey.

The Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 (PAMA) finally goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2020, meaning advanced imaging orders must be placed using clinical decision support for Medicare to provide a full reimbursement.

HHS has awarded $400 million through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to fund community health centers, rural organizations and academic institutions to develop and expand services to combat the opioid abuse crisis.

Radiologist Robert Marshall, MD, is running as a Republican candidate to be the next U.S. Senator from Illinois. Could he be the first radiologist elected to Congress?

AI, blockchain and mHealth apps specific to Big Data are among eight emerging technologies healthcare watchers would do well to keep an eye on, according to a consumer-friendly roundup published Aug. 7 in the Santa Clarita Valley Signal. 

Corindus Vascular Robotics on August 8 announced it had entered a definitive merger agreement with Siemens Healthineers, which will reportedly acquire Corindus for a price of $1.1 billion.