The role of imaging in stress tests and MTBI; and the cost of health IT are in the news.
Articles include: zero-gravity treadmills beneficial for stress tests; plans that don’t require pre-authorization for radiology imaging are a worst-case scenario; a type of MRI might be effective in assessing mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI); healthcare IT systems and technology cost physicians an average of $32,000 a year; and seniors are not embracing digital technology for healthcare management.
Study uses NASA technology for heart health tests – Health Imaging
A new study could give physicians a better understanding of patients’ cardiac health. To combat the burden that traditional treadmill exercise places on patients, physicians are using zero-gravity treadmills in stress tests. The treadmills can reduce patients’ weight by 25 to 50 percent, making it much more comfortable for them to walk for the amount of time necessary to reach a stress test-level heart rate. Then doctors can use normal imaging techniques to take pictures of the heart and its blood supply to determine the patient’s condition.
How to improve patient care and get paid for it too – Health Imaging
It’s a paradox. Procedures listed by payers as “no pre-authorization required” are among the most commonly denied for payment after they’ve been completed. Part of the problem is the general unwillingness of payers to authorize procedures they’ve listed this way. The radiology stakeholders on the short end of this stick include referring physicians along with patients and radiology services providers.
Imaging Predicts Long-Term Effects in Veterans With Brain Injury – Radiology Today
A type of MRI – diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) – might be able to predict post-deployment outcomes for veterans who sustained mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) or a concussion during combat, according to a study. Current assessment of MTBI remains challenging due to the difficulties in separating the effects of MTBI from other conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder. DTI uses measurements of water movement in the brain to detect abnormalities, particularly in white matter. Previous studies have linked DTI metrics to neurocognitive function and short-term functional outcomes in groups of patients
Health IT now costs $32,000 per doctor, annually – DotMed Healthcare Business News
A new survey reveals that the move to digitization costs more than $32,000 per doctor per year. Physician-owned multispecialty practices spent more than $32,500 per full-time physician on information technology equipment, staff, maintenance and other related expenses in 2015. That’s a whopping 40 percent bump up for IT costs for doctors since 2009 – the last year before new regulations ushered healthcare into the digital era.
Digital health technology not popular among seniors – Health Data Management
Seniors might be the sickest, most expensive and fastest growing segment of the U.S. healthcare population, but they are not embracing digital technology for healthcare management. A new study of Medicare beneficiaries over age 65 is underway to gather data about how seniors are using digital health.
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