There are not enough cardiologists to care for patients with heart disease in the U.S. and the shortage is only getting worse, according to a report released today by the American College of Cardiology (ACC). The report projected that the number of practicing cardiologists will need to double between 2000 and 2050 to adequately care for the anticipated new cases of heart disease with the aging baby boomers, escalating obesity and as more people live longer with chronic heart disease.

Last night, President Barack Obama made his healthcare reform speech to Congress, adamantly expressing his determination to be the final U.S. president to take up this cause.

The 50 hospitals ranked by U.S. News & World Report as Americas Best Hospitals in Heart & Heart Surgery are more likely than non-ranked hospitals to have a significantly lower than expected 30-day mortality rate for the treatment of heart failure, but there was much overlap in performance. The readmission rates for patients with heart failure were similar in ranked and nonranked hospitals, which suggests that the hospital factors that produce better mortality rates may not be the ones that are important for readmission, according to a study published Sept. 1 in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.

Still River Systems, a developer of proton therapy systems for cancer treatment, has appointed Joseph K. Jachinowski as its CEO and to its board of directors.

The announcement from the American College of Radiology (ACR) that it has convened a committee to develop a standardized lexicon for CT and MRI surveillance for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) comes as welcome news to structured reporting advocates. The Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (LI-RADS) is a new method of categorization of liver findings in patients with end-stage liver disease. LI-RADS categories will allow radiologists to stratify lesions according to the level of concern for HCC and suggest strategies for follow up and management.

The Center for Medicaid and State Operations of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has sent a letter to state Medicaid directors providing guidance on Section 4201 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which established a payment program for providers that become meaningful users of EHRs.

An opinion piece in the September issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology lambasted the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for its decision denying coverage of CT colonography (CTC) for colorectal cancer screening.

Elekta will provide treatment planning and oncology information management systems for the Proton Therapy Center Czech S.R.O. in Prague, Czech Republic.