Dear AuntMinnie Member,
There finally appears to be some good news coming from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on Medicare reimbursement for imaging.
CMS has released a proposal that would substantially increase payment rates for image-guided breast biopsy in its 2015 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (HOPPS). The new rate would implement a 51% boost in payment for stereotactic, ultrasound, and MRI-guided breast biopsy.
The proposal would correct a major reduction in breast biopsy payment rates that began earlier this year with the 2014 HOPPS payment schedule. Women's imaging advocates warned that the new rates could lead to a resurgence of open surgical biopsies, which have been fading away due to higher patient morbidity.
Is the news a sign that CMS is beginning to see the light on reality-based payment rates for medical imaging? Who knows, but you can view our article by clicking here.
Birnholz on breast screening
Ultrasound has been taking on a more high-profile role in breast screening, so our resident ultrasound expert, Dr. Jason Birnholz, has decided it's a good time to address the topic.
In his latest Practice of Ultrasound column, Dr. Birnholz notes that ultrasound practitioners are already familiar with screening, with the modality long used for obstetrical exams.
But breast ultrasound presents special challenges. In particular, Dr. Birnholz is skeptical of the rise of automated breast ultrasound systems, as he believes that dynamic imaging with a human operator is superior. Read more by clicking here, or visit our Ultrasound Digital Community at ultrasound.auntminnie.com.
CT and headbanging hazards
We close with news from Germany on the potential hazards of headbanging, based on a case report published recently in Lancet and covered on our AuntMinnieEurope.com sister site.
It seems that a 50-year-old man recently presented to a hospital in Hannover complaining of a headache that had steadily worsened over the past two weeks. He reported no obvious head trauma, other than an episode of headbanging at a recent concert by the notorious U.K. heavy metal band Motörhead.
A subsequent cranial CT scan confirmed the presence of a chronic subdural hematoma that was removed via a burr hole through his skull. The patient later recovered.
What's the lesson from the study? Not only does it confirm that Motörhead is the hardest-rocking band on Earth, it also suggests that headbanging is perhaps best left to the young. Read more by clicking here.
