As healthcare delivery and payment systems are redesigned, providers are shouldering a greater share of risk. They also are presented with an opportunity to employ new models to deliver sustainable, cost-effective care and cost-effective access to imaging. By leveraging big data, imaging providers may meet these dual goals, according to the policy brief "Beyond Fee-For-Service: Emerging Payment Models in Radiology," issued by the Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute.

The American College of Radiology (ACR) issued a statement urging Americans ages 50 and older, particularly those with a family history of colorectal cancer, to get recommended screening after a June 1 New York Times article singled out colonoscopies as a case study of why U.S. healthcare costs so much.

The price discrepancy between colonoscopies performed in the U.S. and exams in other countries is at the heart of escalating medical costs in the U.S., according to an article in the NY Times. Colonoscopies are over-performed and over-priced in the U.S., the author asserts. Read more at the link below.

Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) has introduced the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) Transparency and Accountability Act of 2013, calling for changes to the process by which USPSTF makes formal recommendations for preventive care services.

Philips Healthcare will supply the Department of Defense with a digital imaging network PACS under a $88.5 million contract, according to a report from The Motley Fool.

GE Healthcare has signed an agreement to acquire Golden, Colo.-based Unisyn Medical Technologies, a diagnostic imaging products and services provider, according to Zacks Equity Research.

The Medicare Trustees released its annual report May 31 and projected that the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust fund will remain solvent two years longer than last year’s projection, or until 2026.

Officials in Washington, D.C., appear poised to green-light a pair of proton beam therapy treatment centers at a total cost of $153 million. The centers would join a third, which is in the construction stage, in Baltimore. The story, posted on NPR, details the cost concerns of proton beam therapy. Read more at the link below.