As most hospital administrators brace for potential cuts to healthcare, it is still unknown which strategy will correctly buffer a hospital from the cuts' effects while maintaining value and quality of care.

Diastolic dysfunction was linked to incidence of heart failure (HF) in an elderly population, according to a study published in the Aug. 24/31 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The authors concluded that left ventricular diastolic dysfunction is prevalent and worsens over time, especially with age.

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 Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) will co-sponsor the Integrating the Healthcare Enterprises Patient Care Devices domain (IHE-PCD). AAMIs joining the roster of IHE-PCD sponsors signals the growing interest of the associations membership in interoperability and IT.

Hitachi Aloka Medical will make its European debut in Vienna from Aug. 26-29 at the 13th World Congress of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (WFUMB).

James K. Min, MD, has joined the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute as director of cardiac imaging research and co-director of cardiac imaging.

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.