The American College of Radiology has released an updated list of the 2017 Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes relevant to radiology. Care providers should review the changes before they take effect Jan. 1, 2017. 

The final ruling on the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) was released in early October and, while there were some positive surprises for radiologists, hospitals and imaging centers need to work to ensure compliance in billing and reporting. Lack of knowledge about the looming changes, an uneven playing field with payors and the shift from volume to value could all undercut profitability at an imaging practice.   

A greater number of imaging specialists may be able to take advantage of the “non-patient facing” exemption outlined in the final ruling on the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA), released today by CMS.

A lawsuit against Bozeman Health Deaconess Hospital in Bozeman, Montana, alleges that the hospital has been involved in a kickback scheme with Advanced Medical Imaging, a Bozeman radiology group. 

In 1994, Johns Hopkins University’s Ruth Faden led a White House investigation into “widespread radiation experiments” on human test subjects. The following year, Faden and the Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments (ACHRE) issued a report on the subject. This week, the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics hosted a day-long symposium in honor of the report’s impact.

Radiologists contribute to medicine in very specific ways. Imaging directly impacts patient outcomes, such as decreased mortality across a population that undergoes cancer screening. It can also reduce overall costs, for example, by demonstrating that an expensive surgery is not necessary. These factors combine to form imaging’s third impact: It can reduce the length of an episode of care. However, current metrics are not designed with these unique facets of radiology in mind.   

Jubilant Pharma announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for a rubidium-82 generator used to deliver patient doses of rubidium for imaging procedures. Named RUBY-FILL, the device is geared towards PET myocardial perfusion imaging and is expected to be available befor the end of the year.

Danny Hughes, PhD, Senior Director of the Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute in Reston, Virginia, spoke to Radiology Business about radiology’s role in shared savings programs (SSPs), as well as future roles for imaging in these new reimbursement models.