Dear AuntMinnie Member,
In radiation oncology news this week, a multispecialty physician practice in Florida has agreed to pay $12 million to settle charges that it submitted false reimbursement claims to U.S. healthcare agencies for radiation therapy treatments.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the settlements on March 23, according to an article by associate editor Cynthia E. Keen in our Radiation Oncology Digital Community. The DOJ had been investigating the practice after the center's former director of radiation oncology filed a whistleblower complaint in 2008. Learn more about the settlement by clicking here.
In another recent enforcement action, Johns Hopkins University agreed to pay $370,000 to state regulators in Maryland to settle alleged violations regarding the use of ionizing radiation and handling of radioactive materials. You'll find that story by clicking here, or visit the community at radiation.auntminnie.com.
New DR technologies
Visit our Digital X-Ray Community for a two-part series on whether three new digital radiography (DR) technologies will enable the modality to carve out a role as an alternative to CT for some clinical indications.
The innovations -- dual-energy imaging, computer-aided detection, and tomosynthesis -- have the potential to improve DR's diagnostic performance to the point where it might be able to supplant CT as a tool for working up patients or following pathology. DR could offer suitable resolution with a far lower radiation dose than CT, according to contributing writer James Brice.
Of course, some radiologists still believe the new technologies need to prove themselves. For part 1 of the series click here, for part 2 click here, or visit the community at xray.auntminnie.com.
