According to a new market research report published by MarketsandMarkets, the value of Optical Imaging Technologies Market was $915.75 Million in the year 2012 and is expected to reach $1.9 Billion by 2018, at an estimated CAGR of 11.37% from 2013 to 2018.

The Obama administration hyped healthcare spending rates for the last 12 months, noting that the increase is the lowest in the last 50 years. Hospital readmissions dropped as well, and the growth rate for premiums on employer-sponsored plans was clipped at 3 percent. In addition, price tags on state-sponsored health insurance rates are coming in well below projections in many states. Read more at the link below.

With $1 billion in payments on the line, hospitals are homing in on patient satisfaction. They are hiring chief patient satisfaction officers and patient navigators and tapping into volunteers to check on patient needs. Other strategies include “yacker trackers” to hush noisy nurses and yoga for patients and staff.

The Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance (MITA), the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) and the Medical Device Manufacturers Association (MDMA) today announced that medical device manufacturers have now paid an estimated $1 billion to the Internal Revenue Service for the medical device excise tax.

Four trends will converge and shape the future of healthcare in the U.S. RAND Corporation Chair in Policy Analysis Arthur Kellerman, MD, outlined the issues—healthcare reform, information asymmetry, cost-sharing and innovation—in a Health Affairs blog.

The American Medical Association House of Delegates voted June 18 to recognize obesity as a disease. The move, which overrode recommendations of AMA’s Council on Science and Public Health, could open the door to improved reimbursement for treatment.

Two experts outlined the pros and cons of pay for performance in the Wall Street Journal. The article includes a chart placing radiologists at the top of specialist compensation. Meanwhile, noninvasive cardiology showed the highest growth in median compensation from 2002 to 2011.

The price discrepancy between colonoscopies performed in the U.S. and exams in other countries is at the heart of escalating medical costs in the U.S., according to an article in the NY Times. Colonoscopies are over-performed and over-priced in the U.S., the author asserts. Read more at the link below.