NORWOOD, Mass.--The role of leadership is imperative in the current healthcare reform, according to Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, who spoke at the fifth annual HIMSS New England Chapter Public Policy Forum Wednesday.

According to the results of a study published online March 29 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, radiotherapy treatment following breast conserving surgery in all sociodemographic subgroups was consistently high, but not so following mastectomy, despite similar clinical benefit.

Thomson Reuters has released its annual study identifying the top 100 U.S. hospitals based on their overall organizational performance, based on 10 specific benchmarks. Of note, the list does not include any facilities from New England, the Northwest region nor the state of New York.

As part of the passage of the healthcare reform legislation last week, various provisions, several of them imaging related, were enacted as part of the legislative process that will affect the management of routine clinical practice.

The Center for Integrative Cancer Medicine in El Paso, Texas, has deployed eRADs PACS for oncology treatment and diagnosis by remote radiologists using the eRAD web-based diagnostic viewing and reporting system.

Ian Alexander has been named executive vice president of Elektas Asia Pacific region.

President Barack Obama will reportedly nominate Donald M. Berwick, MD, as the next administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), according to a variety of media sources.

The Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) has issued a monetary breakdown between each piece of the healthcare reform legislationthe version originally proposed by the Senate and the House Reconciliation Act--and while the differences between the bills are modest, the Reconciliation Act price tag is $70 billion more expensive.