The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has launched a final to make definitive a one-year proposed delayfrom Oct. 1, 2013, to Oct. 1, 2014in the compliance date for use of new codes that classify diseases and health problems. The final rule also establishes a unique health plan identifier.

The American College of Radiology (ACR) has established the Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute, which will examine the role of radiology in new healthcare delivery and payment modelsparticularly quality-based approaches to radiologic care and the impact of medical imaging on overall healthcare costs.

Healthcare reform changes, including accountable care partnerships, should be the top priority for the healthcare finance industry, according to the results of a survey conducted at the recent Healthcare Finance Management Association National Institute conference held in Las Vegas.

A mere decade ago, radiologists were the belle of the physician recruiting ball, and topped the list of most requested specialists in physician search assignments. Times have changed. Merritt Hawkins has released its 2012 Review of Physician Recruiting Incentives; radiologists have dropped from the most requested specialty in 2003 to 18th in 2011-2012.

Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has issued a ruling upholding the individual mandate portion of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), and both supporters and opponents of the law have returned to their respective corners, its time to look ahead to where the focus of the next round in the ongoing healthcare reform bout will be.

In the midst of an increasingly tight job market for radiologists, experts remained somewhat bullish about radiologists overall prospectsprovided the profession can adapt to an evolving environment, according to a panel discussion published in the July issue of American Journal of Roentgenology.

Online job postings for healthcare informatics show an unprecedented demand for the trade, outpacing other healthcare occupations.

In 2011, an estimated 85.3 million CT procedures were performed in the U.S., representing an annual growth rate of 4 percent compared with 2010. While the numbers are increasing, the 4 percent growth rate is a slowdown from the double digit growth of CT seen in the early 2000s, according to a survey of CT sites published by IMVs Medical Information Division.