vRad (Virtual Radiologic), the nation’s leading telemedicine company and radiology practice, and MetaMind, Inc., a provider of state-of-the-art Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions powered by “deep learning,” announced a partnership to improve the speed, accuracy and quality of radiology diagnostics for a series of potentially life-threatening conditions, the first of which will be intracranial hemorrhaging (IH).

“The one thing Democrats and Republicans agree about is mammograms: We need more, not less, screening. Meanwhile, screening has become radiology’s raison d’être, the treatment effect, the proof that imaging saves lives, the link between the radiologist in a dark room and the people.”

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) has awarded more than half a billion dollars to fund the formation and growth of health information exchanges (HIEs). Has the return been worth the investment? One researcher has looked into that question, found a qualified Yes—and pointed to decreased radiology utilization as a prime piece of supporting evidence. 

The past 35 years have seen U.S. consumers pay for a steadily growing portion of their own healthcare. In fact they’ve ponied up roughly $40 to $50 more each year, driving the average annual out-of-pocket expense from $250 in 1980 to $1,300 in 2015. 

It’s a duo of developments that are completely unrelated yet similarly themed and coincidentally timed. Within the space of hours, one prestigious U.S. hospital system gives word of layoffs and another announces wage increases.

Challenges and opportunities created by the Affordable Care Act are prompting two-thirds of companies to consider altering their pre-65 retiree health strategies over the next few years, according to a new Aon Hewitt survey.

With all the daily obstacles facing physicians these days, getting paid for the services they provide to keep patients healthy should be easy. Unfortunately, it isn't always.

Speech recognition software is at the top of the wish list, if not in the active purchasing plans, for 272 healthcare providers shopping for or in the process of buying imaging IT products in eight countries of northern Europe.