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:
FDA Clears Path For First Domestic Supply of Tc-99m Isotope
On February 8, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) took steps to ensure a stable and secure supply of a critical radioactive imaging product used to detect potentially life-threatening diseases. The FDA approved the RadioGenix System, a unique system for producing Technetium-99m (Tc-99m), the most widely used radioisotope in medical imaging. The NRC is issuing guidance and will license the RadioGenix System to enable the Tc-99m it produces to be used for medical imaging. Continue reading…
CMS Reboots Effort To Curb Illegal Medicare Billing
The CMS is restarting an initiative meant to prevent providers from illegally billing some Medicare beneficiaries for cost-sharing. The agency will start sending new billing notices to providers this summer, alerting them when certain beneficiaries should not be billed for cost-sharing, according to a Feb. 2 notice to clinicians.
The CMS first launched the effort last year after receiving reports that providers hit some patients that were dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid with coinsurance costs even though they were enrolled in a savings program. Continue reading…
PET-CT Scans For Pancreatic Cancer Patients Eliminates Additional Surgery
A recent guideline from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in the United Kingdom recommends PET-CT scans should be used to more quickly and accurately diagnosis and manage pancreatic cancer, resulting in a 20 percent reduction in surgery to remove the cancer.
According to a NICE press release, this recommendation will ultimately mean that pancreatic cancer patients whose cancer has spread and is “inoperable” will not need to undergo additional surgery. Additionally, this will also limit the damaging side effects of chemotherapy many pancreatic patients endure for treatment. Continue reading…
An Important Financial Metric Your Practice Should Track
DSO (Days Sales Outstanding) is the number of days it takes to see a patient and get the final payment posted into your billing system. It’s a critical number when it comes to evaluating the overall health of your practice because it determines cash flow, which helps you budget and plan. If you are like most private practices, every penny counts and knowing you will be able to function as a business is very important. If you are one of those providers or administrators that “sort of guesses,” you’re playing with fire.
Do you know your average DSO? Do you know how to calculate it? If you answered “no” to either of these questions, continue reading…
24% Of Ischemic CVD Patients Die or Are Rehospitalized Within 6 Months
Nearly a quarter of patients with chronic ischemic cardiovascular disease are either dead or rehospitalized within six months of their diagnosis, according to a recent report published in theEuropean Journal of Preventive Cardiology.
Lead author Michel Komajda, MD and colleagues launched the Chronic Ischaemic Cardiovascular Disease Pilot Registry, a 2,420-patient strong database spanning 100 hospitals across 10 European countries. Enrolled patients had either stable coronary disease or peripheral artery disease—two of the most common cardiac conditions—and were followed for six months after seeing a health professional about their illnesses. Continue reading…
