Dear AuntMinnie Member,
Are you doing everything you need to do to get Medicare payments for CT lung cancer screening? If you're not sure, you might want to read a new article we're featuring this week in our CT Community.
Carin Carlson of Healthcare Administrative Partners (HAP) reviews the recently released guidelines on CT lung screening from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The guidelines outline the requirements that both patients and imaging facilities must meet if they are to receive Medicare payments for the scans.
For example, CT providers must follow CMS requirements for keeping radiation dose low, and they must report CT lung screening exams using a standardized reporting template. They also need to adhere to rules regarding shared decision-making between providers and patients, as well as making smoking cessation programs available to patients.
Learn more about what's required by clicking here, or visit our CT Community at ct.auntminnie.com.
MRI predicts preterm births
Italian researchers have found that MRI could be a useful tool in predicting which expectant mothers might give birth prematurely, according to a new story this week in our MRI Community.
A group from Sapienza University of Rome used diffusion-weighted MRI to examine areas of the cervix in women who were suspected of having fetal abnormalities. They compared the MRI scans to conventional ultrasound studies to find out which modality was more useful.
The researchers found that certain characteristics on the MRI scans indicated that a woman might go into labor prematurely. Find out what they are by clicking here, or visit our MRI Community at mri.auntminnie.com.
While you're there, be sure to read this article on the appearance on MRI of the Zika virus in an infected patient.
PACS and EMR workflow
Finally, visit our Imaging Informatics Community for the second article in our ongoing series by contributing editor Greg Freiherr on challenges and opportunities in enterprise imaging.
In the newest article, Mr. Freiherr examines workflow -- in particular, the fact that other healthcare specialties that are beginning to use digital image management employ workflow patterns that are very different from radiology. How should PACS vendors address this new challenge? Find out by clicking here, or visit the community at informatics.auntminnie.com.
