Diagnostic Imaging Scan - February 26, 2008 - (Page 1) Business News For Medical Imaging “The Story Behind The Announcement” Business Briefs Week in revieW Lackluster quarterlies smacked down vendors and providers alike. Radiology management firms took a higher profile. ✱ Toshiba director calls Toshiba director calls for unified approach to insurance industry Coronary CTA wrangling exemplifies need for improved communication A decision by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services regarding its coverage policy for coronary CT angiography may be only weeks away. The stakes are high in the near and long term. CTA could set a precedent that will spill over into other CT applications, including CT colonography, according to Doug Ryan, senior director of the Toshiba America Medical Systems CT business unit. In this, our final installment in a series of four industry interviews, Ryan says vendors and their clinical partners must communicate better with CMS and other insurers if coronary CTA and other advanced CT applications are to meet their clinical potential. DI SCAN: What is the word from the field? Ryan: Our cardiac CTA customers have told us this is a great test that is benefiting patients. They are concerned that it will be taken off the table. It is the responsibility of the vendors and our clinical partners to make sure it remains available to patients. DI SCAN: How do you do that? Ryan: We need to develop a strategy that can communicate the cost-benefit of new technologies. But before we can do that, we have to find out from CMS what they would like to see from us so that we, as an industry, can develop a communications plan. DI SCAN: What would this do? Ryan: It would allow us to tell CMS when we see growth in procedures such as coronary CTA and explain that it is occurring because a valuable test is coming into use. But we don’t want to do this individually, one vendor or group at a time. We need to have a unified approach to work together on a solution. The vendors would work through the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) and its Medical Imaging and Technology Alliance division. They have acted as a good voice and a good lobbyist for the vendors. We also should work with physician groups. for unified approach to insurance industry ✱ SCAN exclusive: Bracco exec describes pending E-Z-EM acquisition ✱ Bayer wins rights to PET radiolabeling technology ✱ Toshiba prompts customers to embrace 4D ✱ Commentary: ARGH! Pirates ready to board! MTS Health Investors, a private equity firm specializing in healthcare, has purchased a controlling interest in HealthHelp, a provider of radiology cost-containment services. Houston-based HealthHelp supports health insurers, third-party administrators, preferred provider networks, and selfinsured employers. The provider covers more than nine million members in the U.S., Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Guam. Two million have joined in the last four months alone. Its senior management team will remain in place, according to MTS. Net income at SonoSite fell despite a hefty increase in revenues during the fourth quarter of 2007. Compared with year-earlier period, worldwide revenue grew 19% in 4Q07 to $64.8 million and 20% to $205.1 million for the fiscal year. Net income dropped in the quarter to $4.3 million from $5.8 million in 4Q06. SonoSite forecasts revenue growth of 15% for 2008 and an operating margin of 7% to 8%, including estimated expenses for pending litigation. R&D expenses are projected to total 12% of revenue, with other expenses estimated at between DI SCAN: It seems that the radiology community lately has been under fiscal attack, first from Congress and the Deficit Reduction Act, and now from CMS. Ryan: Healthcare is one of the biggest costs against the gross domestic product in the U.S. right now, and that is why it is getting so much attention. People are looking at ways to reduce healthcare costs. I’m not sure the way they are going about it—with reductions through imaging reimbursement—is the right solution. You have to wonder if they are targeting imaging because of increasing procedure volumes. DI SCAN: If the CT community is successful in developing CT colonography and its use grows in popularity, will we see a similar kind of backlash from CMS? Ryan: That may depend on the decision CMS makes about cardiac CTA. If a national registry is in the works, it would set a precedent that would almost certainly be used in other areas. DI SCAN: Such as CT colonography? Ryan: Yes. And I think that is where we need better communications with CMS. DI SCAN: Is what is going on with cardiac CTA a kind of learning experience? Ryan: You have to learn from any process Cardiac CT angiography visualizes multiple stents in the left anterior descending artery and first diagonal branch. Citing concerns that the clinical value of coronary CTA has not yet been proven, Medicare administrators will decide next month whether to restrict reimbursement for this technology. (Provided by Toshiba America Medical Systems) February 26, 2008 Copyright © 1991-2008 CMP Healthcare Media Group LLC
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