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NEJM: Chemo without rad therapy improves Hodgkin’s survival rate

Thursday, February 02
cancer, oncology - 78.21 Kb
Chemotherapy alone has been shown to be an effective treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma, with a higher rate of overall survival than a treatment strategy combining chemotherapy with radiation therapy, according to a study published in the Feb. 2 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.
 

JACR: False alarm – Surgical breast biopsies not overused

Wednesday, February 01
Woman in Hospital - 119.42 Kb
Concerns that surgical breast biopsies, as opposed to percutaneous core needle biopsies, were being overused may be unfounded as the true surgical breast biopsy rate is likely somewhere between 2 percent and 18 percent, which is close to the recommended rate, according to a study published in the February issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology.
 

Device makers agree to pay double for better FDA performance

Wednesday, February 01
Roll of Money - 13.41 Kb
Manufacturers of medical devices have agreed to pay substantially higher fees to the FDA in exchange for speedier and more predictable reviews, according to a news release from the agency. The deal, which needs to be approved by Congress, would double the dollars kicked in by industry—to $595 million over the next five years, up from $295 million over the past five years, according to multiple sources.
 

Komen cuts Planned Parenthood breast cancer screening funding

Wednesday, February 01
Miss Mammo - 11.66 Kb

The Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation, a national fundraiser for breast cancer research, has said it will halt all partnerships with Planned Parenthood, a move that will cut funding for breast cancer screenings and prevention.
 

GE invests in ingestible imaging capsule maker

Wednesday, February 01
Green Idea - 8.71 Kb
GE Capital and GE Healthcare have invested in Check-Cap, developer of an ingestible imaging capsule that may help detect colorectal cancer.
 

Alleging internal spying, six whistleblowers take FDA to court

Tuesday, January 31
Courtroom - 20.77 Kb
Six current and former employees of the FDA—all scientists and physicians who worked on reviewing medical devices—have filed suit against the agency, accusing it of spying on their computer activities. The six allege that they were placed under secret surveillance because they had warned Congress that FDA was hastily approving risky devices.
 

JACR: Did self-referral spark 700% leap in MSK ultrasound?

Tuesday, January 31
Finance Arrow Man - 9.54 Kb
In the last decade, private office musculoskeletal (MSK) ultrasound swelled 717 percent, from 19,372 exams in 2000 to 158,351 in 2009, with podiatrists accounting for more than half of the growth, according to a study published in the February issue of Journal of the American College of Radiology. The findings led researchers to raise concerns about self-referral.
 

JACC: What are the real dose risks with cardiac imaging?

Tuesday, January 31
radiation dose - 68.00 Kb
With the growth of cardiac imaging, there has been heightened concern about the resulting increased exposure to ionizing radiation. Andrew J. Einstein, MD, PhD, of Columbia University Medical Center and New York-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City, outlined the currently available research on radiation exposure in cardiac imaging in the Feb. 7 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology and concluded that while strong data specifically addressing the risks of cancer from cardiac imaging don’t exist, increased risks can be projected from studies involving similar levels of radiation exposure.
 

2012 CMIO Compensation Survey: A look at multi-hospital organization CMIOs

Tuesday, January 31
Financials - 148.29 Kb
The results are in from the 2012 CMIO Compensation Survey. We’re bringing you several articles with more facts and figures from this year's results. First up: CMIOs who work at a multi-hospital organization/integrated delivery network.
 

GE sheds Centricity Advance EMR system from its portfolio

Monday, January 30
interoperability - 26.67 Kb
GE Healthcare has decided to stop selling Centricity Advance, a web-based EMR, practice management and patient portal system, which was primarily marketed to office-based physicians.
 

CMS: More data needed on best management of blocked carotid arteries

Monday, January 30
endovascular, coronary intervention, carotid stent - 38.81 Kb
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) held a meeting Jan. 25 with the hope of strengthening carotid atherosclerosis management. During said meeting, the Medicare Evidence Development & Coverage Advisory Committee voted on evidence, procedures and the most beneficial strategies for the management of atherosclerosis to prevent stroke, with most members agreeing that more data are necessary.
 

Radiology: Rads must be prepared to disclose errors to patients

Monday, January 30
doctor-patient consult, elderly - 140.78 Kb
Radiologists are often held to the same standards of patient communication as physicians providing direct clinical care, which means radiologists are going to be expected to disclose harmful radiologic errors and should prepare for such situations, according to an article in the February issue of Radiology.
 

JACC: SPECT, PET & CTA have little impact on pre-cath patient testing

Sunday, January 29
SPECT, nuclear medicine, stress test - 36.07 Kb
Although post-imaging use of cardiac catheterization and medical therapy increased in proportion to the degree of abnormality findings, noninvasive testing had only a modest impact on clinical management of patients referred for clinical testing, according to the SPARC trial published in the Jan. 31 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
 

Radiology: Leaders needed in changing healthcare model

Friday, January 27
Reimbursement Cuts - 41.93 Kb
Diagnostic radiology will have to assert its value to patients and referring physicians in order to continue to grow in a challenging environment where cost-consciousness and value are the focus, according to an article published in the February issue of Radiology.
 

PNAS: fMRI highlights dyslexia characteristics

Friday, January 27
brain, stroke - 21.33 Kb
Children at risk for dyslexia show differences in brain activity on functional MRI (fMRI) scans before they begin learning to read, according to a study published online Jan. 24 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
 

Mostashari shares visions of health IT's future

Friday, January 27
Multiexposure data storage - 27.02 Kb
Farzad Mostashari, MD, national coordinator for Health IT, clued the nation into five health IT trends expected to take off as healthcare reform progresses and predicted that 2012 is the year that health IT “truly comes of age.”
 

HIMSS: Vendor-neutral archive can solve PACS problems

Thursday, January 26
confused physician - 111.73 Kb
Implementation of a vendor-neutral archive (VNA) solves most of the problems associated with PACS, can save money over the long term and can prepare an enterprise to participate in a health information exchange (HIE), according to Michael J. Gray of Gray Consulting who presented during a webinar on Jan. 26 hosted by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and GNAX Health.
 

Study questions value of CT scans for dizziness in the ED

Thursday, January 26
CT Dose - 9.99 Kb
Performing CT scans in the emergency department (ED) for patients experiencing dizziness may not be worth the expense, according to a study conducted at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit and presented Jan. 26 at the Triological Society Combined Sections Meeting in Miami.
 

NEJM: How will the reform act affect healthcare?

Thursday, January 26
hurdle, barrier - 188.38 Kb
Although major components of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) do not go into effect until 2014, the fate of PPACA depends on the outcomes of four key events this year, according to a perspective paper published online Jan. 26 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
 

CMS posts guidelines for EHR incentive appeals

Wednesday, January 25
Money Bailout Lifesaver - 17.83 Kb
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is implementing an appeals process for its Medicare EHR incentive program and posted guidelines on how to appeal a payment decision on its website.
 
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