2010 January

As the new year rolls in, were due to have a new healthcare reform planas well as an increase in the federal debt ceiling. My hope is the former brings good news for patients and the fiscal health of healthcare; the latter only means bad news.

RIS/PACS solutions have alleviated the concerns of misplacing patient records and lags in turnaround times for radiology departments and imaging centers, allowing for the rapid retrieval of patient images and reports from remote locations.

Cardiac MRI has distinguished itself as a tool for diagnosing heart disease, namely in examining the size and thickness of heart chambers, viewing the extent of damage from progressive heart disease, detecting plaque buildup and assessing a patients recovery following treatment.

The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) slashed reimbursement for diagnostic imaging centers by placing a cap on technical-component payments from Medicare for non-hospital imaging services beginning in January 2007.