Policy & Regulations

This channel includes news coverage of healthcare policy and regulations set by Congress, the states, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and medical associations and societies. 

Advocacy groups, healthcare providers urge CMS to change course on LDCT reimbursement cuts

More than 80 organizations, including the American College of Radiology (ACR) and numerous healthcare systems, are asking CMS not to follow through with low-dose computer tomography (LDCT) lung cancer screening reimbursement cuts included in the 2017 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System proposed rule. 

September 6, 2016

New Hampshire law creates imaging licensing board

New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan ceremonially signed into law Aug. 9 SB330, a bill proposing to regulate the licensure of imaging professionals in the state, including MRI technologists, nuclear medicine technologists, radiologist assistants and sonographers, among other positions, in the state. 

August 24, 2016

‘Mother’s Rooms’ provide comfort for employees, big savings for facilities

When mothers return to work after having children, they often face an issue that may never cross the mind of their male coworkers: finding a proper lactation facility. According to a new analysis published in the Journal of the American College of Radiology, radiology departments and practices have ethical, legal and financial reasons to provide such facilities for employees.

August 18, 2016

ACR calls for virtual colonoscopy coverage—again

While 22 states mandate insurers to cover virtual colonoscopy screening, it’s yet to be fully covered under Medicare, citing “insufficient evidence on test characteristics and performance” in a 2009 brief. Since then, imaging societies and patient advocacy groups representing millions of Americans have urged Medicare to reverse it’s decision.

August 15, 2016

FDA issues new draft recommendations for medical device manufacturers

The FDA has published draft updated recommendations that assist manufacturers with knowing when they are legally required to notify the FDA about medical device modifications. An additional guidance focused on software devices was also published. The two documents, once finalized, will replace a guidance that dates back to 1997.

August 8, 2016

Indicted Texas AG took $100k from imaging CEO under investigation for fraud

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is facing three counts of felony securities fraud, accepted a $100,000 gift to fund his defense from the head of an imaging company his office was investigating for Medicaid fraud, according to the Associated Press.

August 3, 2016
Michael Walter

Physician trainees aren’t being properly prepared to order imaging

A recent study in the Journal of the American College of Radiology confirmed something that most radiologists likely already knew to be true: physician trainees do not have a firm grasp of the costs associated with medical imaging. 

July 29, 2016

FDA schedules new medical device workshop for October

The FDA has announced a public workshop called, “Refurbishing, Reconditioning, Rebuilding, Remarketing, Remanufacturing, and Servicing of Medical Devices Performed by Third-Party Entities and Original Equipment Manufacturers,” which is scheduled for October 27 and 28. 

July 25, 2016

Around the web

"This was an unneeded burden, which was solely adding to the administrative hassles of medicine," said American Society of Nuclear Cardiology President Larry Phillips.

SCAI and four other major healthcare organizations signed a joint letter in support of intravascular ultrasound. 

The newly approved AI models are designed to improve the detection of pulmonary embolisms and strokes in patients who undergo CT scans.

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