Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and David Vitter (R-La.) introduced S. 2347, the Diagnostic Imaging Services Access Protection Act in the U.S. Senate on April 25.

Otis W. Brawley, MD, chief medical and scientific officer of the American Cancer Society, weighed the pros and cons of risk-based mammography screening in an editorial published May 1 in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The editorial coincided with the publication of two studies examining risk-based screening for women ages 40 to 49.

Lung cancer is usually detected at an advanced stage. Attempts at demonstrating the benefits of screening and early detection had been elusive, until the results of the National Lung Screening Trial (NSLT), sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, were published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Aug. 4, 2011.

Healthcare providers and suppliers will be required to use a National Provider Identifier number when they submit Medicaid or Medicare claims, as well as when they apply to enroll in the programs, according to a final rule published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in the Federal Register on April 27.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) expects operating payments to acute are hospitals to increase by about 0.9 percent, or $175 million, in 2013, according to a proposed rule.

Due to the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) findings, the American Lung Association (ALA) is recommending lung cancer screening with low-dose CT scans for people who meet certain criteria, which include the following: current or former smokers (aged 55 to 74 years), with a smoking history of at least 30 pack-years and with no history of lung cancer.

Every day, approximately one in every 20 patients has an infection related to the patients hospital care, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The agency has released an updated National Action Plan to reduce healthcare-associated infections for public comment.

Almost half of top bean counters in the medical device industry suggest their companies are considering price increases and cost reductionsincluding layoffsto stay competitive when the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Acts 2.3 percent excise tax goes into effect next January. The finance executives revealed their concerns by responding to a survey conducted in March by tax-advisory firm KPMG.