Economists predict that government spending will account for 49 percent of all national health expenditures by 2020, according to a report from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released July 28.

The University of Western Australia's Centre for Software Practice (CSP) has released Diagnostic Imaging Pathways, an iPad application that helps clinicians choose the most appropriate diagnostic imaging examinations in a wide range of clinical scenarios.

Kootenai Imaging in northern Idaho has contracted McKesson Revenue Management Solutions (RMS) for practice management services and to help steer the group toward the adoption of ICD-10.

Physician compensation in 2010 flattened, while radiologists faced a decline in average salary, the likely results of dropping reimbursements, according to a survey released this week by Medicus.

A California radiologist who owned several medical practices, including an imaging center, has been charged with fraudulently billing workers compensation patients for false and unnecessary procedures, and faces sentences of up to 892 years in prison.

While radiologists compensation crept downward, primary and specialty care physicians reported mixed movement in compensation in 2010, according to Medical Group Management Associations (MGMA's) Physician Compensation and Production Survey: 2011 Report Based on 2010 Data. The report also showed persistent regional discrepancies in compensation.

Business intelligence. Digital dashboards. While the terms are often bandied about, radiologists and imaging stakeholders are striving toward more precise definitions and applications to help their practices gain maximum efficiencies. In search of a consensus, we asked leaders in the field to understand current applications and future potential.

Alicia Vasquez is president of the Radiology Business Management Association (RBMA) Board of Directors and practice administrator for Arcadia Radiology Medical Group (ARMG), an eight-physician practice in Arcadia, Calif. Health Imaging & IT met with Vasquez to discuss key issues shaping the business of radiology.