Dear AuntMinnie Member,
You'll be getting paid less from Medicare for analog x-ray studies starting in 2017, and less for computed radiography (CR) starting in 2018, under a little-known provision in U.S. budget legislation passed late last year.
The provision in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016 is designed to give U.S. hospitals additional impetus to replace aging analog x-ray systems by reducing Medicare payments by 20% starting in 2017. In 2018, the provision will be extended to CR, with payments reduced by 7% for the next five years, and 10% after that.
While there are few analog x-ray machines still in operation in the U.S., the legislation could have a major impact on sites still using CR, with more than 8,000 CR units installed in the country, according to a market estimate.
Read more by clicking here, or visit our Digital X-Ray Community at xray.auntminnie.com.
New CIO Focus section
We're pleased to announce a new section in our Imaging Informatics Community designed exclusively for chief information officers (CIOs). Called CIO Focus, the area includes articles specifically of interest to CIOs.
This week, we're highlighting an article on the challenges CIOs face when integrating PACS into their enterprise image management strategies. Authored by Mike Cannavo, the PACSman, the article explains how the evolving complexity of PACS has created confusion that can make it difficult for CIOs as they develop ways to combine PACS with the rest of their IT network.
Read Mike's latest column by clicking here, or go straight to the CIO Focus section at cio.auntminnie.com.
Helping rads connect with patients
Radiologists are being told that they need to interact more with patients, but what's the best way to do it? A new program at UMass Memorial Medical Center is helping radiologists develop better patient skills with simulated communications training.
Participants in the program, which is called "Coming Out of the Dark," go through a series of staged scenarios that represent typical encounters that a radiologist might have with a patient. The scenarios are videotaped and evaluated, with grades given according to a standardized scale.
Residents who participated in the program showed an improvement in their scores, according to a recent study of its effectiveness. Learn more by clicking here.
In other news, interventional radiology will see a number of code changes in 2016, according to a new article by Donna Richmond of Panacea Healthcare Solutions. Click here to find out what's new, or visit our Imaging Leaders Community at leaders.auntminnie.com.
