Cardiologist Martha Gulati, MD, lead author of the 2021 chest pain guidelines, explained how the document may have contributed to the rise of cardiac CT. "These guidelines have made it harder for people to push back and say you don't need this test," she said. 

Backers include societies representing radiologists and nuclear medicine professionals, device manufacturers, patient advocacy groups, and pharmaceutical companies. 

Brookline-based Bournewood Health Systems and First Psychiatric Planners are also accused of pushing patients to attend facilities known to be overcrowded and dangerous. 

In addition to the hefty fine, the New York physician has agreed to relinquish ownership of his cardiology practice after exchanging kickbacks for PET and SPECT referrals for more than a decade.

Buzzworthy developments of the past few days.

“These results suggest that hospitals need to substantially improve the integration of their online pricing data with frontline staff who interact with patients," investigators wrote in JAMA Internal Medicine. 

"Under-compensation of out-of-network care will threaten the viability of smaller and independent physician practices," ACR and others charged. 

Last week brought the latest in an occasional series of conversations on AI between governmental leaders and Big Tech honchos.