Dear AuntMinnie Member,
The sustainable growth rate (SGR) fix wasn't much of a fix after all. After raising hopes for a long-term solution to the SGR morass, Congress once again chose to punt and yesterday passed a 13-month postponement of the annual Medicare rate increase.
While this week's news is disappointing to many physician groups, there is a silver lining. The SGR patch that's going to President Barack Obama for his signature actually includes several new provisions that appeal to radiology. These include rules limiting the impact of large Medicare cuts, a postponement to ICD-10 implementation, and a call for a review of the controversial multiple procedure payment reduction.
So this week's news, although yet another sign of dysfunction in Washington, DC, isn't all bad for radiology. And Congress undoubtedly will be able to pass a permanent fix after the 2014 midterm elections in November (April Fools'!).
Read more about the new SGR legislation by clicking here, or visit our Imaging Leaders Digital Community at leaders.auntminnie.com.
News from AIUM
The American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM) is convening its annual meeting this week in Las Vegas, and Senior Editor Erik L. Ridley is on hand to cover the proceedings for our Ultrasound Digital Community.
One of the early highlights of this week's meeting was a Sunday lecture by Dr. Levon Nazarian on the evolution of musculoskeletal ultrasound. Dr. Nazarian explained how the modality has flourished in spite of challenges such as turf battles and concerns about overutilization. Read more by clicking here.
Another early AIUM session covered the contribution that ultrasound has made to sports imaging, as evidenced by its growing use in the U.S. Olympic program. Physicians from the U.S. Olympic Committee described how ultrasound is helping to diagnose athletes and get them back on the ice quickly. Get the details by clicking here.
For more coverage of AIUM 2104 this week, be sure to check back at ultrasound.auntminnie.com.
Aberle on CT lung screening
Finally, we close with an overview of where we stand with CT lung cancer screening by one of the radiologists who knows it best: Dr. Denise Aberle, principal investigator on the landmark National Lung Screening Trial (NLST).
In a talk at the recent European Congress of Radiology, Dr. Aberle reviewed the NLST data, with a particular focus on the practical details of how population-based screening might be implemented in the U.S.
For example, how are radiologists going to classify suspicious findings on low-dose CT scans? Dr. Aberle provided a sneak peek at a BI-RADS-like classification system that's being developed, as well as other details. Read more by clicking here, or visit the community at ct.auntminnie.com.
