Two decades of experts calling for value in Medicare reimbursement has gone largely unheeded. However, transitioning toward value-based reimbursement for imaging could optimize innovation and reward advances that deliver improved health and economic outcomes, according to an article published in the September issue of Academic Radiology.

A relatively simple and practical thyroid imaging reporting and data system (TIRADS) based on the number of suspicious ultrasound (US) features can be applied to risk stratify thyroid nodules, according to a study published in the September issue of Radiology.

The government has announced the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement initiative that will work to align payments for services delivered across the entire care continuum. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is inviting providers to help test four bundled payments models. The combination of bundled payments and the accountable care organization (ACO) model could save Medicare $50 billion over a 10-year period.

A decline in hormone therapy (HT) use among women ages 50 to 64 was linked with lower mammogram rates among these women, according to a study published Aug. 22 in Cancer. The study suggested that when women stop seeing their physicians for HT prescriptions, physicians do not have the opportunity to remind their patients about when mammograms are due.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has released a policy regarding the secure use of web-based collaboration and social media tools.

Transthoracic needle lung biopsy (CT-guided biopsy) was complicated by pneumothorax in 15 percent of cases, according to a study published Aug. 1 in Annals of Internal Medicine. The findings of fairly common complications led the authors to call for physicians to present patients with more information about the risks and benefits of pulmonary nodule biopsy.

The lead author of a new study that showed a clear racial gap in funding for biomedical research suggests that the disparity is not deliberate, but still does damage to both the unfunded researchers and U.S. healthcare on the whole.

The American College of Cardiology's (ACC) CardioSource.org presents news updates on various topics, including the proposed 2012 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, the broadening of the ACC memberships to new specialties, and an interview with ACC President David R. Holmes, MD, on the appropriate use criteria (AUC) for PCI procedures, among other topics.