Blue Dog Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on health were credited Friday with combating liberal proposals arising during protracted deliberations that would have cut physician pay. No action was taken on an amendment that would have banned in-office imaging physician self-referral. "I give them credit for taking a bill that was extremely left of center and putting in some provisions that moved it a little bit more toward the middle," said Cynthia R. Moran, assistant…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on August 3, 2009 at 12:30pm —
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May 8, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Cardiac CT triple rule-out debunks radiation fears By H.A. Abella For years, high radiation dose exposure has been the bogeyman that kept the cardiac CT triple rule-out exam for chest pain from widespread application. That concern has been addressed with the use of radiation dose reduction techniques, according to a Thomas Jefferson University study. "The amount of radiation that people get from a triple rule-out study is not as high as everybody thinks it is,"…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on May 8, 2009 at 7:00am —
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May 7, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. GE launches ‘Healthymagination’ initiative By Greg Freiherr GE launched today Healthymagination, a six-year initiative that will redirect half of its $1 billion healthcare R&D budget toward driving down the cost of healthcare while boosting access to improved care through technology and service innovations in the U.S. and around the world. GE's chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt announced in a press conference the company's commitment to spend $3 billion in R&D…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on May 7, 2009 at 7:00am —
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May 6, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Thrall predicts healthcare reforms in 2009 By James Brice Dr. James Thrall, chair of the American College of Radiology Board of Chancellors, predicted during the opening session of the college's annual meeting Sunday that Congress will adopt healthcare reforms in 2009 and that of all the pending proposals, Medicare legislation has the greatest likelihood of passage. The ACR meeting and chapter leadership conference in Washington, DC, is closed to the media, but…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on May 6, 2009 at 7:30am —
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May 5, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Multimodality imaging tracks cardiac stem cell therapies By H.A. Abella PET, SPECT, MRI, and even x-ray-based modalities are helping researchers learn how to use stem cells to restore the pumping power of injured hearts. The modalities factor into plans to track stem cell delivery, survival, and replication during clinical use, making them essential for research. Labeling studies follow human stem cell therapies. That was the take-home message delivered by Dr.…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on May 5, 2009 at 7:30am —
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May 4, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. International agency wants smart cards to track patient radiation histories By Paula Gould The International Atomic Energy Agency has launched an effort to create a running total of how much medical radiation patients are exposed to over time by issuing smart cards and modifying electronic medical records. Organizers expand scope of Image Gently radiation reduction program. IAEA safety experts note that tracking dose for patients would provide a level of…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on May 4, 2009 at 7:30am —
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May 1, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Today's young radiologists see their jobs in different light, Gen X and Y imagers feel more keyed in to technology than older rads, bring new requirements and expectations BY REBEKAH MOAN, Ms. Moan is deputy editor of Diagnostic Imaging. Staff Care, a division of the recruiting firm Merritt Hawkins & Associates, has a Country Doctor award, not for radiologists but for family practitioners. One Mississippi physician, from Morton, used to work 70 hours a week…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on May 1, 2009 at 7:30am —
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May 1, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Senate report considers financial penalties for inappropriate imaging By James Brice Financial penalties would be enforced against physicians who frequently recommend inappropriate medical imaging under a set of policy options outlined in a potentially influential report issued April 30 by the Senate Finance Committee. Obama budget makes no assumptions about Medicare sustainable growth rate cuts Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee,…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on May 1, 2009 at 7:30am —
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April 30, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Brain and spine imaging benefit from increased field strength Jump in resolution and acquisition speed from 1.5T to 3T allows precise measurement of neurotransmitter concentrations Karen Sandrick -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Neuroimaging with MRI at 3T is superior for nearly every application in the brain and spine, and it is certainly inferior for none. The technique has unique strengths for performing…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on April 30, 2009 at 8:00pm —
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April 30, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Best practice guidelines earn praise, criticism from radiology benefit managers By H.A. Abella A white paper on imaging preauthorization guidelines produced by the American College of Radiology and the Radiology Business Management Association has drawn mixed reactions, particularly among radiology benefit managers. The benefit managers agree that management programs may lack consistency and add costs. But they also worry the guidelines may weaken efforts to…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on April 30, 2009 at 7:30am —
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April 29, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Breast cancer risk in young women suggests need for early monitoring By Rebekah Moan An MRI study of risk factors for breast cancer in young women, including teenagers, concluded that risk assessment and prevention should start much earlier in life than previously recommended. The Canadian study suggests using imaging techniques that avoid patient exposure to ionizing radiation. Researchers have known for years that mammographic density is a significant risk…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on April 29, 2009 at 7:30am —
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April 28, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Whole-body CT bolsters survival hopes of polytrauma patients By H.A. Abella Seriously injured patients have a better chance of surviving multiple trauma when they are evaluated in the emergency room with whole-body CT, according to a study of more than 4500 cases from Germany. The number of early trauma centers that have added whole-body CT to their protocols is increasing worldwide. But little published evidence documents the procedure's impact on polytrauma…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on April 28, 2009 at 7:30am —
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April 27, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Mistrust, costs reduce breast cancer screening among minorities By H.A. Abella Distrust of healthcare providers, cultural barriers, lack of information about the benefits of screening, or simply the need to cut corners might all contribute to the levels of compliance for breast cancer screening among minorities, including African American, Hispanic, and lesbian/bisexual women, recent studies show. In one of the studies, Michigan State University researchers…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on April 27, 2009 at 7:30am —
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April 24, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Insurer wants boost for primary care at imaging’s expense By H.A. Abella The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association has recommended boosting payments to primary care physicians and paying for them with cuts to imaging services. The suggestion came during a congressional hearing on healthcare reform held by the Senate Finance Committee. Imaging proponents say they will challenge any proposal lacking evidence to support it. "To attain the goal of having everyone…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on April 24, 2009 at 7:30am —
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April 23, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Criminal investigators search Siemens office By Greg Freiherr Investigators from the U.S. Department of Defense executed a search warrant April 22 at the Malvern, PA, office of Siemens Medical Solutions USA, seeking evidence of wrongdoing associated with a government contract between the DoD and Siemens. The search focused on a single floor of one building on the Malvern campus, according to spokesperson Lance Longwell. Information about the specific contract…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on April 23, 2009 at 7:30am —
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April 23, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Zerhouni returns to Johns Hopkins University By H.A. Abella Dr. Elias Zerhouni, the first board-certified radiologist to serve as chief of the National Institutes of Health, will rejoin Johns Hopkins University as a senior adviser to the $4 billion Hopkins Medicine institution after a six-and-a-half year stint at the NIH. He will focus on academic medicine innovation. "With a new administration in Washington, a global economic downturn, and anticipated reforms…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on April 23, 2009 at 7:30am —
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April 22, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. ACRIN sets sights on noncancer imaging research By H.A. Abella The American College of Radiology Imaging Network will expand its research scope beyond cancer to add applications that advance clinical care in areas such as neuro and cardiovascular imaging. ACRIN started its first noncancer imaging research in 2006 by creating the Cardiovascular Committee with funding provided by the ACR and corporate donors. In the same year, it also launched a multicenter…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on April 22, 2009 at 7:30am —
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April 21, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Drug-eluting stents boost survival in patients with coronary stenosis By H.A. Abella Coronary artery stenosis patients age 65 and older have better survival chances when they are treated with drug-coated stents than with bare metal stents, according to findings of a study involving more than a quarter million Medicare recipients. The study, sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the American College of Cardiology, is the largest to…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on April 21, 2009 at 7:30am —
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April 17, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Frequent CT surveillance of endovascular aneurysm repair may be unjustified By H.A. Abella More than eight years of data from nearly 500 patients suggest that frequent monitoring with CT to look for complications after endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms is unnecessary and that it could be done instead with ultrasound. While open surgery remains the standard of care for patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm, studies establishing the comparative…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on April 17, 2009 at 1:00pm —
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April 16, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Laser ablation plus MR thermometry boosts survival rate for cancer patients By Rebekah Moan Colorectal cancer patients are known to survive longer if their liver metastases are removed. New research shows one method for killing cancer cells -- laser ablation guided by MR thermometry -- is safe and effective and leads to a better survival than other methods. If liver metastases from colorectal cancer cannot be removed surgically, other options include laser…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on April 16, 2009 at 1:00pm —
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