In the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS’) 2015 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) proposed rule, 80 codes were identified as “misvalued” by CMS, of which 20 percent pertained to radiology. Overall, however, the proposed 2015 MPFS changes would have the biggest impact on radiation oncology and radiation therapy centers.

While after-hours radiology staff coverage in U.S. academic emergency departments (EDs) is expanding, nearly three-quarters of programs still exclusively use preliminary interpretation for some overnight hours, according to a survey of program directors of neuroradiology fellowship programs.

The majority of community hospitals in the U.S. have pediatric dose reduction protocols for head CT, though there is some variation based on hospital characteristics and also differences in the utilization of protective shielding, according to a study published in the July issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology.

President Barack Obama will nominate Bob McDonald, former CEO of Procter & Gamble, as the next secretary of Veterans Affairs.

Trimming patient wait times, improving satisfaction with exam explanations, training staff to deliver difficult news and involving patients more extensively in the decision-making process are all signs of a practice that has made a commitment to patient-centered care in radiology.

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) has closed investigations into the G. V. (Sonny) Montgomery VA Medical Center in Jackson, Miss., that were triggered by whistleblower complaints about possible inadequate radiology care, among other concerns.

Even after the disease is treated, cancer survivors face high medical costs and are often hindered by a loss in productivity, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The FDA has issued an alert to patients who received a mammogram at Big Sky Diagnostic Imaging in Butte, Mont., after the quality of mammograms at the facility was called into question following a routine review.