There are several criteria that any imaging-based screening test must have in order to get traction in today's cost-conscious healthcare environment: The test should be cheap, reimbursable by Medicare, and clinically necessary for a fairly broad segment of the population. If providers can offer the new test without having to buy new equipment, well, that's just icing on the cake.
Dear Business & Industry Insider,
There are several criteria that any imaging-based screening test must have in order to get traction in today's cost-conscious healthcare environment: The test should be cheap, reimbursable by Medicare, and clinically necessary for a fairly broad segment of the population. If providers can offer the new test without having to buy new equipment, well, that's just icing on the cake.
Bone densitometry firm CompuMed of Los Angeles thinks it may have hit on a winning formula with a new version of its OsteoGram software. OsteoGram has been around for over a decade, but CompuMed just recently discovered that a new version of the software can process and analyze digital x-ray images of the hand acquired by full-field digital mammography (FFDM) systems.
The company sees potential benefits on several levels. Women's health groups have long bemoaned the low compliance rates for osteoporosis screening, and CompuMed's technology could make it more convenient for women to get screened by combining a breast exam with a bone density study. What's more, the new OsteoGram could also make struggling mammography centers more profitable by adding a new, reimbursable study to their range of services.
A profile of CompuMed's new strategy is the subject of this issue's Business and Industry Insider Exclusive, which you're receiving before our other AuntMinnie members. To read all about CompuMed and OsteoGram, just click here, and when you're done visit the rest of the Business and Industry Digital Community for the latest news from the medical imaging industry.
