The FDA has announced plans to modernize and finalize its 510(k) clearance pathway as part of a continuing effort to advance the review of safety and effectiveness of medical devices, according to a recent statement from FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, and Jeff Shuren, MD, director of the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH).

NHS England has announced plans to do a major overall of its national cancer screening programs as part of its Long Term Plan, an initiative aimed to improve patient care and outcomes, according to an NHS press release published Nov. 15.

Over the coming weeks, CMS will unveil a mandatory Medicare payment model for radiation oncology, Alex Azar, Health and Human Services secretary, said in a recent speech. The announcement drew a mixed reaction from the American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

The interventional radiologist, and former chief medical officer for the U.S. Navy, Steve Ferrara, MD, lost to his Democratic challenger and former Phoenix Mayor, Greg Stanton in the race to represent Arizona’s 9th Congressional District, according to an ArizonaCentral report.

Non-radiologist performed imaging payments comprised substantial proportions of overall Medicare reimbursement for highly-reimbursed physicians in cardiology, vascular surgery and orthopedic surgery, according to research published online Nov. 2 in Current Problems in Diagnostic Radiology.

Police investigating the death of 32-year-old Rajesh Maru—who was sucked into an MRI machine at Nair Hospital in Mumbai, India, in January—are expected to bring new charges against Nair employee Vitthal Chavan, 35, for Maru’s death after allowing him to enter the MRI room with a metallic oxygen cylinder, according to a Nov. 5 report by The Times of India.

Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) of Massachusetts announced they will give “preference” to freestanding imaging clinics over hospital-based centers through its split-level cost-sharing for x-ray and advanced imaging program, effective Jan. 1, 2019.

International interventional radiology (IR) societies committed to provide stroke training to interventional radiologists to help expand the number of those trained in endovascular stroke therapies, according to a statement published online Oct. 28 in the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology.