MU2: Value Proposition for Radiology

April 27, 2012 | Priors

On March 7, 2012, the proposed rule¹ governing stage 2 of the CMS incentive program for electronic health records (EHRs) and the 2014 EHR certification criteria² were published to generally favorable reviews from organized radiology. Mike Peters, director of legislative and regulatory affairs for the ACR®, explains why the ACR has... Read More »

CT Dose Reporting in California

April 27, 2012 | The Bottom Line

Many of the accidents that spurred press coverage of CT overdoses in recent years occurred in California. This led to enactment of the state’s SB 1237 (and subsequent cleanup legislation), which will take effect on July 1, 2012. The law’s basic provisions are that the so-called CT dose—the volumetric... Read More »

ACOs: A Concept in Motion

October 28, 2011 | Feature

While health-policy experts debate the potential of accountable-care organizations (ACOs) to address the problem of cost in US health care, a panel held on July 22, 2011, at the RBMA Executive Education Program in Scottsdale, Arizona, reveals that with prototype ACOs already in play and health-care systems assessing their ACO needs,... Read More »

New CMS Rules Complicate Supervision and Interpretation

December 12, 2010 | Deal Scan

Recently altered CMS rules governing diagnostic-imaging supervision and interpretation agreements have created what one knowledgeable observer calls a horrible mess. Health-care attorney Tom Greeson, a partner in the law firm Reed Smith LLP of Falls Church, Virginia, expresses concern that regulatory changes that took effect earlier this year might... Read More »

Regulatory Update: October 2010

October 11, 2010 | Regulatory Report

The FDA’s review process for medical devices still needs clarification, and the link between user fees and performance needs strengthening, representatives of medical device manufacturers testified at a public hearing.

The FDA held the Read More »

Regulatory Update: September 2010

September 15, 2010 | Regulatory Report

CMS plans to implement a two-year Medicare Imaging Demonstration Project [PDF] that will test whether decision-support systems can promote the appropriate... Read More »

New Requirements for Documenting Imaging Orders

June 16, 2010 | Regulatory Report

CMS  published an interim final rule (with a comment period) on May 5, implementing several changes to the Medicare and Medicaid programs mandated by the Read More »

When the FDA Sneezes…

February 24, 2010 | Adview

A rapid-fire series of radiation-related events, beginning in mid-2009 and continuing into 2010, culminated in the recent bombshell that the FDA would begin regulating medical radiation. Both the industry and the specialty continue to reverberate. Although these recent events were accompanied, and possibly fanned, by some confused and histrionic reporting... Read More »

Alternative Imaging Business Structures and Arrangements: What’s Legal?

December 01, 2009 | Feature

In recent years, the diagnostic imaging industry has served as a microcosm, of sorts, for the larger health care industry. Diagnostic imaging has seen rapid technological advances that have dramatically increased diagnostic capabilities and increased demand for services, as well as increases in both the number and types of... Read More »

Malpractice Premiums: MIA in the Health Care Debate

December 01, 2009 | Opinion

Health reform efforts have developed into a heated and contentious debate. Despite the position of the AMA in favor of HR 3200 (America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009), physicians are, in fact, quite conflicted on the issue of health care reform. Many physicians are supportive of a single-payor system,... Read More »

Grassroots Coalition Puts Collaboration Above Competition

November 19, 2009 | Imaging Futures

The rival groups had targeted the same pool of patients in their marketing efforts, positioning their respective imaging facilities, in one of the most competitive markets in the country, as the best that the Big Apple had to offer. In July 2009, however, they put competition aside for a common... Read More »

ACR Economic Update: What to Expect From CMS in 2010

November 19, 2009 | Regulatory Report

While health reform is still a legislative preoccupation, where regulatory agencies are concerned, the train has left the station, according to Maurine Spillman-Dennis, MPH, MBA. Spillman-Dennis is a senior director in the economics and health policy division of the ACR®, and she presented an economic update from the college... Read More »

Sunshine Bill Renews Focus on Conflicts of Interest

October 14, 2009 | Legislative Report

While health care players and politicians have long debated the issue of medical transparency, deeper scrutiny of physician–industry relationships has produced a general consensus on one aspect of the dispute: The climate has changed.

Thomas Hoffman, JD, associate general counsel for the ACR®,... Read More »

Isotope Shortage Hinders Nuclear Medicine

September 11, 2009 | Imaging Futures

It was the worst news that the nuclear-medicine community could receive when, on August 12, Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd (AECL), Chalk River, Ontario, announced that the National Research Universal (NRU) reactor would remain shut down until at least January 2010. The 51-year-old reactor, which has been inoperative since May owing... Read More »

Recovery Audit Contractors: Coming Soon to a Provider Near You

April 15, 2009 | Regulatory Report

Medicare providers and suppliers nationwide have been preparing for increased Medicare audit activity in anticipation of the nationwide rollout of the permanent Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) Program. CMS suspended implementation of the permanent RAC program in late 2008, but the stay was lifted in February 2009. The RAC project is back... Read More »

Maintaining a Steady Aim at a Moving Target

December 01, 2008 | Feature

An overview of recent regulatory changes affecting diagnostic imaging

Although the Bush administration may ultimately be viewed by history as the zenith of the conservative philosophy of less regulation, such laissez-faire treatment has not extended to the diagnostic imaging segment of the health care industry. Since the... Read More »

Busting Myths: Joint Ventures

December 01, 2008 | Regulatory

Radiology groups should understand the tax implications of arrangements with hospitals before they begin negotiations, according to W. Kenneth Davis, Jr, JD. He presented Tax-exempt Laws and Radiology Groups: Myth Versus Reality on October 17, 2008, at Managing Legal Exposure in Radiology, a meeting held in Philadelphia by the RBMA. Davis,... Read More »

Major Advances in Osteoporosis Assessment: New NOF Guidelines and the’s FRAX Risk-assessment Tool

December 01, 2008 | Regulatory

Osteoporosis is a major public-health problem, with an estimated 44 million US residents at risk for fracture.¹ Much-needed direction can be provided by new guidelines from the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF) and the new FRAX® tool from the World Health Organization (WHO). Since there often are no warning signs before... Read More »

New Rules of the Game: Medical Directors Assume the Quality Burden

October 16, 2008 | Quality

Demand for radiologists acting as medical directors could jump if a proposed regulation now under consideration by CMS is adopted. The proposed rule would require all nonhospital providers of imaging services to meet Medicare’s existing requirements for IDTFs, which specify that there must be a qualified physician designated... Read More »

The Next Wave: Compliance With Medicare IDTF Standards Requires Ongoing Diligence

September 15, 2008 | Regulatory Report

To say that the health care regulatory environment has been active over the past two years would be an understatement. The focus of this article is Medicare: the primary payor for health care services in this country and, often, the standard by which other payors establish their payment rules.... Read More »

CMS Proposes Changes to the Anti-Markup Rule: Round Two

September 01, 2008 | Governance

The only constant is change is an apt mantra for the imaging industry over the past several years. For the second time in two years, CMS has proposed comprehensive changes in the anti-markup provision of the purchased diagnostic test rule (AMR) in the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) regulations.... Read More »

Recovery Audit Contractors and Medicare Audits: Successful Strategies for Defending Audits

August 15, 2008 | Radiology Business Journal

The CMS Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) program has been made permanent and is expanding nationwide, beginning this year. Radiology providers should act now to adopt and implement appropriate compliance programs. Radiology providers should make efforts to understand the Medicare appeals process and should know that many strategies exist that... Read More »

Ethics, Steerage, and a Level Playing Field

June 15, 2008 | Final Read

How you feel about the issue of patient steerage depends, of course, on whether you are the beneficiary of a steady stream of unsuspecting patients being directed your way by payors determined to control every aspect of the delivery system. If you are trying to compete with a fair... Read More »

Legislative Report: Another Temporary SGR Fix Is in the Wings

June 12, 2008 | Legislative Report

The CMS Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) is again the center of attention for the medical community. The State Children’s Health Insurance Program bill passed in December 2007 averted the last SGR-mandated cut by funding a 0.5% update for six months. We are, however, once again at the precipice of unprecedented,... Read More »

CHAMP, Sustainable Growth Rate Reform, and Other Potential Payment-reduction Vehicles

April 15, 2008 | Regulatory Report

Today’s imaging market is substantially different from that of earlier years; payment is less secure, coverage for new technology is more difficult to obtain, and government and private oversight are increasing. After years of uninhibited growth and development, the imaging sector now faces unprecedented scrutiny that will probably... Read More »