+ imagingbiz newswire

Concord Medical, Largest Diagnostic Imagine Provider in China, Reports Q1 Financials

May 21, 2012

Concord Medical, which operates the largest network of radiotherapy and diagnostic imaging centers in China, reported its unaudited consolidated financial results for the first quarter of 2012 today.

The company reported total net revenues of $16.9 million, up 22 percent from those reported in the first quarter of 2011. Net income was $4 million for the quarter, up 9 percent year-over-year, an $0.08 per-share increase.

Concord Medical operated 130 imaging centers in 51 cities across 24 provinces in China, at which it saw more than 52,000 patients in the quarter, according to the earnings... Read More »

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Posted in imaging_center_chains , finance

DICOM Grid Closes $5M in Expansion Financing for DG Suite

May 16, 2012

Phoenix, AZ-based DICOM Grid closed a $5 million round of expansion financing today that the company hopes will allow for the expansion of its DG Suite cloud-based imaging platform.

DICOM Grid provides real-time, vendor-neutral access to imaging studies. The company also announced that with this latest financing it will open DG Suite up to third-party development.

Read More »

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Posted in dicom , finance

Reform Anxiety: Medicaid Hike, Docs Overbilling, and Congress Wants War Effort to Foot the Bill

May 11, 2012

Anxiety about the impact of national healthcare reform reverberated throughout the halls of lawmakers, policymakers, and federal administrators this week, as America tries to decide where and how its healthcare system will bear the burden of increasing patient populations and the costs of treating them.

For starters, a bipartisan Congressional initiative debuted that would draw down federal dollars from the war effort in Iraq and Afghanistan to fund Medicare reform, dodging CMS reimbursement rate cuts that would otherwise take effect January 1, 2013.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Read More »

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Posted in medicare , reimbursement , cms , legislation , medicaid , finance , regulatory

RadNet Posts Q1 Results: Revenue, Assets Up

May 10, 2012

After a quarter of aggressive partnerships and acquisitions in early 2012, RadNet still posted... Read More »

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Posted in imaging_center_chains , finance

Castlight Bumps up to $180M with Latest Financing

May 03, 2012

Castlight Health, the company that facilitates healthcare e-consumerism, set a niche record today for the most amount of money raised by an HIT start-up, according to Forbes.

The company tallied an additional $100 million in a Series D offer, raising its capital to $181 million in the past four years. Among the latest to buy in are a pair of mutual funds, the names of which were unreported, T. Rowe Price, and Redmile... Read More »

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Posted in finance

Varian Medical Systems Sees “Healthy Growth” in Revenue and Orders in Q2

April 26, 2012

Varian Medical Systems is reporting “healthy” growth in revenue and net orders for the second quarter of fiscal year 2012. The company generated $720 million in revenues during the quarter, up 11 percent from the prior-year period, and ended the period with a $2.7 billion backlog, up 18 percent from the same point in fiscal year 2011.

Net earnings of $0.94 per diluted share are up 9 percent from $0.86 per diluted share in the same quarter last year.  The results include a $2.5 million or $0.02 per diluted share restructuring charge associated with realigning... Read More »

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Posted in imaging_vendor_news , finance

X-Ray, MRI Markets to Climb 3.5%, Ultrasound up 4.9% by 2017

March 21, 2012

The five-year forecasts are sunny for the worldwide X-ray and MR markets, according to a pair of reports from Transparency Market Research (TPM).

X-ray technologies, which account for the lion’s share of the diagnostic imaging market, should grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.5%, hitting $9.1 billion by 2017. Likewise, MRI is expected to hit an identical CAGR of 3.5% over the same timeframe.

The bulk of the market share... Read More »

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Posted in mri , finance , health_economics , forecasts

Radisphere Closes $15 M Venture Capital Loan

March 21, 2012

Farmington, CT-based Horizon Technology Finance Corporation (HTFC) finalized a $15 million venture loan to Radisphere National Radiology Group Wednesday, a move both companies say will provide a valuable platform from which the specialty practice group can grow.

“Proof is in the pudding,” HTFC CFO Christopher Mathieu told Imagingbiz. “They’ve done really well so far executing on their plan. We believe that they can continue to grow.”

Radisphere is an existing client... Read More »

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Posted in finance , radisphere

Alliance HealthCare: Revenues up in 2011, but Company Still Must Cut Costs

March 15, 2012

Alliance HealthCare Services saw full-year revenues of $493.7 million in 2011, the company announced yesterday, up $14.8 million from annual revenues of $475 million in 2010. For its fourth quarter of 2011, the company posted $3 million in year-over-year revenue gains, up from $117.7 million in Q4 2010 to $120.7 million Q4 2011.

Despite these numbers, however, Alliance suffered a ($160.1) million net loss for the 2011 year, nearly five times its full-year 2010 losses of ($32.7) million. This amounted to a loss of ($3.01) per basic share in 2011 versus a loss of ($0.62) per basic share... Read More »

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Posted in finance

Radnet Posts Banner Year Financials for 2011

March 09, 2012

Radnet Inc., the largest imaging center operator in the United States, reported record year-end revenues this week based on annual 2011 financials.

Last year, Radnet earned $619.8 million — up 12.3% from 2010 — and net income of $7.2 million, a $20.1 million increase from deficit earnings in 2010. Affecting net income last year were certain non-cash expenses and non-recurring items such as employee stock compensation, deferred financing expenses and severance pay, according to a press release announcing the latest financial statement. 

MRI volume increased 17.6%, CT volume increased 11.0% and PET... Read More »

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Posted in finance

Collapse of Supercommittee A Mixed Bag for Radiology

November 22, 2011

The failure of the Congressional supercommittee to reach a compromise on spending cuts has positive and negative implications for the radiology sector and the health care community in general.

On the one hand, the group’s inability to reach a consensus brings an automatic 2% cut to most Medicare spending. This adds up to $123 billion over the next decade, according to a Congressional Budget Office report from September—a far more palatable reduction than the $500 billion in cuts to Medicare and Medicaid that were proposed as a bargain by Democrats in October.

While radiology cuts were... Read More »

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Posted in medicare , reimbursement , acr , dra , sgr , health_care_policy_news , legislation , finance , mppr

Supercommittee Chair Decries Democrats’ Refusal to Accept Medicare Cuts

November 18, 2011

Democrats’ unwillingness to accept major Medicare cuts will rank among top factors meriting blame if President Obama’s supercommittee fails to meet its November 23 deadline to cut the federal deficit, Republican supercommittee co-chairman Jeb Hensarling of Texas said Wednesday in a press briefing Wednesday.

During the briefing, Hensarling noted that the panel’s six Democrats have yet to put real entitlement reform on the table, and that President Obama “got in the way” when he noted, in September, that health care cuts needed to “go hand-in-hand” with new revenues.

“His veto threat has been widely... Read More »

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Posted in medicare , health_care_policy_news , legislation , supercommittee , finance

Health Insurance Costs Outpace Income Growth

November 18, 2011

A new report released by the Commonwealth Fund pegs the cost of health insurance as outpacing income growth in all 50 states.

According to the report, 62% of Americans resided, by 2010, “in a state where health insurance premiums equaled 20 percent or more of earnings for a middle-income individual under age 65.”

The report also cites a 50% increase in premiums for employer-sponsored family health insurance between 2003 and 2010, with annual premiums reaching an average of $13,871 by the latter date. Employees’ annual expenditures for insurance rose by 63% by 2010, to an average of $3,721 per year for a family policy.

Additionally,... Read More »

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Posted in finance

Medicare Spending on Imaging Trending Downward, Analysis Shows

November 16, 2011

Medicare spending on imaging continues to decline, with Medicare patients receiving fewer imaging procedures, according to an analysis of Medicare data released today by the Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance (MITA).

“This analysis confirms the downward trend in both imaging spending and utilization in Medicare that has occurred in recent years,” MITA Executive Director David Fisher said in a statement. “The assumption that life-saving diagnostic imaging and radiation therapy are increasing health care costs is simply not true.

The analysis demonstrates that spending on imaging services for each Medicare beneficiary has decreased by 13.2% since 2006, when... Read More »

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Posted in medicare , acr , dra , mita , finance

Top Health Care Executives Earned Higher Salaries in 2011, Survey Shows

November 10, 2011

The average compensation brought home by top executives of health care systems was slightly higher this year, with increases averaging 3% in 2011 over 2010, reveals a survey conducted by Integrated Health Strategies, a health care management consulting firm with offices in Kansas City, Missouri; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Dallas, Texas.

In addition to the salary increase, survey results indicate that CEOs and other “C-suite” executives who are eligible for short- and long-term incentives appear to be reaping big rewards. Incentive opportunities reported by eligible CEOs are as high as 80% to100% of these individuals’ salary or expected value.

Short-term... Read More »

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Posted in finance

Massachusetts Commission Recommends Price Controls for Hospitals, Other Providers

November 10, 2011

A Massachusetts commission responsible for controlling health care costs in that state has issued a recommendation that price controls be imposed on hospitals and other medical providers, State House News Service (www.statehousenews.com) reports.

The commission suggests that hospitals be required to justify health care prices that appear to fall above the norm, and that they do so before a panel of state healthcare finance officials if insurers refuse to pay them. The latter would then be forced by the panel to accept the price quoted by the hospital in question, or the panel would require... Read More »

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Posted in reimbursement , finance

Health Care Job Growth Continues In October

November 08, 2011

The health care employment picture is looking healthy, with a total of 11,600 jobs added in October and 313,000 jobs added over the past 12 months, according to the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics report.

Ambulatory care settings and hospitals added the highest number of jobs last month. In the former category, physicians’ offices expanded their roster of positions by 8,200 jobs; home health care services, by 2,000 jobs; and outpatient care centers, by 2,900 jobs.

Meanwhile, hospital employment was up by 3,300 jobs in October. Nursing and residential care facilities also brought on new hires, to the tune of 3,500 jobs.<... Read More »

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Posted in finance

Deficit Reduction Plan Must Include Tax Increases, Economist Says

November 08, 2011

Congress will be compelled to slash Medicaid and Medicare unless a significant portion of the deficit reduction plan currently being developed comprises tax increases, states Henry J. Aaron, PhD, senior fellow of economic studies with the Brookings Institution, in an editorial published in the November 3 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

Aaron writes in the editorial that health programs constitute 23% of the federal budget and an even higher percentage of the projected spending growth. He deems Medicare and Medicaid are “too large” to be ignored when spending cuts are being considered, noting that whether or... Read More »

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Posted in medicare , reimbursement , medicaid , finance

Smaller Physician Salary Increases on Tap For 2012

October 20, 2011

Smaller salary increases will be the norm for physicians in 2012, according to the 2011 Physician Compensation Survey released Monday by the Hay Group, a Philadelphia-based consulting firm.

The survey pegs salary increase budgets set by primary care practice groups, specialty practice groups, and hospitals alike at 2.5% higher next year than in 2011, compared with actual increases of 2.7% for 2011 versus 2010. Physician specialists employed by hospitals can expect salary hikes of 2.4% in 2012, the survey indicates—significantly lower than the 4.5% salary increases projected for group-based physician specialists in the coming year.

Moreover, 50% of responding organizations set physician pay on an... Read More »

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Posted in finance

Outlook is Negative For Not-For-Profit Hospitals

September 06, 2011

The health care employment picture may be rosy compared to other sectors, but the outlook for U.S. not-for-profit hospitals is negative, according to a new report from Moody’s Investors Service.

Titled “U.S. Not-for-Profit Hospital Medians Show Resiliency Against Industry Headwinds But Challenges Still Support Negative Outlook”, the report indicates that most such hospitals saw weakening revenue growth in 2010, while simultaneously maintaining stable financial performance and achieving somewhat improved balance sheet positions.

Specifically, the report says, median net patient revenues and total operating revenues slowed to a respective 4.1% and 4.0% in the not-for-profit hospital... Read More »

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Posted in finance , hospital_administration

Gemino Healthcare Finance Grants Credit Line to RCOA

August 11, 2011

Gemino Healthcare Finance, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, earlier this week announced it has granted a $3 million revolving line of credit to Radiology Corporation of America (RCOA), a Delray Beach, Florida-based operator of 19 mobile PET and PET CT scanners that serve hospital clients in 13 states.

RCOA will use the proceeds are to refinance existing debt. “We went to Gemino with a hard, near-term refinancing deadline,” says Kevin Kilroy, RCOA’s Chief Financial Officer.

Gemino Healthcare Finance specializes in providing senior loans to health care service providers throughout the U.S., with typical financing needs ranging from $2 million and... Read More »

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Posted in finance