Healthcare is ever changing, so it’s important to stay up to date on advancements and issues that may impact the development, operation, maintenance, and growth of your services. Here are some important developments:
Physicians should rethink their revenue streams
Ancillary services can boost practice revenue and be a major convenience for patients, but regulatory challenges and competition from hospitals and other players mean that physicians need to think more strategically than ever about their service menu. Payers are increasingly steering physicians to large third-party facilities for traditional ancillaries such as lab work as the insurers chase economies of scale. Regulations limiting the types of providers who can offer certain services, along with increasing competition overall also threaten margins for these ancillary businesses. Continue reading…
Many with irregular heartbeat not on meds they need: study
Many people with an irregular heartbeat who suffer a stroke may not have been on medications that might have prevented their stroke, a new study suggests. Duke University researchers found that 84 percent of stroke patients with the heart condition known as atrial fibrillation (AF) had not been getting adequate clot-preventing therapy. Dr. David Wilber, a cardiologist at Loyola University Medical Center in Illinois, called the findings “sobering.” Continue reading…
Fainting guidelines instruct physicians to search for heart conditions
A set of guidelines on how fainting could be a sign of a serious heart condition was recently issued by the American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association and the Heart Rhythm Society. The guidelines, which are the first of their kind on the topic, can help physicians decide whether fainting is being caused by a heart condition. About 14 percent of Americans have recurrent fainting, according to the guidelines. Continue reading…
MedPAC issues March report to Congress: 8 takeaways
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission has released its March 2017 report on Medicare payment policy to Congress, which includes recommendations to slash payment rates for home health agencies and inpatient rehabilitation facilities. For a list of the eight takeaways from MedPAC’s March report, continue reading…
Download the 2nd issue of the SNMMI Annual Meeting Preview Magazine
Take a sneak peek into the SNMMI 2017 Annual Meeting. In the latest issue, learn more about optional pre-meeting seminars of clinical, scientific and academic interest taking place in Denver! Plus, view session highlights, including content focused on addressing current professional challenges, and great networking opportunities to see and be seen this June 10-14! Download your copy today.
University of Missouri research reactor files for NRC approval to start U.S. production of medical isotopes
The University of Missouri Research Reactor and its partners Nordion, a business of Sterigenics International, and General Atomics (GA), announce that MURR’s License Amendment Request (LAR) has been submitted to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). This marks a critical step towards implementing domestic U.S. production of molybdenum-99 (Mo-99). Once operational, production from this facility will be capable of supporting nearly half of U.S. demand for Mo-99, which currently must be imported from outside North America. Continue reading…
