Dear AuntMinnie Member,
It may or may not be a trend, but either way it's disturbing -- a series of nearly a half-dozen MRI magnet explosions over the past decade in the U.S. While most have occurred without injury, the mishaps have baffled MRI experts.
That's according to a new article we're featuring this week by contributing writer Kathlyn Stone in our MRI Digital Community. The article explains the incidents and why they may be occurring, and also offers advice on how to avoid a catastrophic accident in your own facility. Learn more by clicking here.
In other MRI news, lawsuits against manufacturers of gadolinium-based MRI contrast media have moved forward in a federal court in Ohio. Nearly 300 complaints have been consolidated in a single court for pretrial proceedings, and the judge in the case held a status conference last week. Get an update on the litigation by clicking here.
DRA cuts deep into imaging
Finally, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) last week announced that the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) of 2005 was the driver behind a $1.7 billion drop in Medicare spending on imaging services in 2007.
The GAO said the figure is a sign that the DRA is working to reduce federal healthcare expenditures. But radiology advocates say the drop shows that the DRA's cuts were more extreme than initially projected, and that the legislation is restricting access to imaging services for seniors and other disadvantaged populations. Get the rest of the story by clicking here.
