Diagnostic Imaging Scan - March 18, 2008 - (Page 1) Business News For Medical Imaging “The Story Behind The Announcement” Business Briefs Week in revieW Medicare administrators choose business as usual, drop idea to develop national coverage policy for coronary CTA. ✱ CT community celebrates ✱ IT vendors square off against ✱ Medical physicists rank greatest CT community celebrates Medicare decision Cardiac CT advocates congratulate CMS on continued coverage Industry and physician groups, CT vendors, and scan providers embraced the news last week that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services had backed away from a proposal to institute a national coverage determination for cardiac CT. Resisting the temptation to claim victory in what clearly was a political battle, the advocates of coronary CT angiography focused on the goodwill and collaborative spirit that led to this result. “It was the right decision. It was a balanced decision. It didn’t limit access to this technology, while it gives the industry time to produce more proof and more data to understand how CCTA fits and how it will mature over time,” said Gene Saragnese, GE Healthcare’s vice president of global CT and molecular imaging. The medical imaging community clearly dodged a bullet as the CMS decision continues to allow local Medicare contractors to issue local coverage determinations regarding the use of cardiac CTA for their geographic areas. LCDs favoring CCTA are currently in effect in all 50 states. Market uncertainty had cast a pall over the CT community. CMS announced June 13, 2007, that it was considering an NCD regarding CTA. The proposed policy, announced just before Christmas, led to serious concerns that the agency would overturn its LCD-based coverage in favor of a national coverage policy that could take years to develop. This would have ended CCTA reimbursement for all patients but those enrolled in research trials preapproved by CMS. Uncertainty over future reimbursement made physicians reluctant to invest in a program to develop CCTA, according to Dr. Bill Shea, director of cardiac 3D imaging services at NightHawk Radiology. Now, with this issue settled and the current reimbursement scheme intact, demand for coronary CTA is poised to boom. “We anticipate a significant increase in the size and number of cardiac CT programs that will develop because of this decision,” Shea said. The economic incentive to adopt CCTA is enormous. As a substitute for invasive cardiac catheterization, this procedure, which costs about $800, could save $3000 or more per patient undergoing cardiac assessment. NightHawk, one of the world’s largest teleradiology companies, sees this as a major opportunity. “We anticipate being able to offer our services to existing customers to help them develop their programs by having the capability to do postprocessing and interpretations,” Shea said. “We also hope to develop relationships with those entities that are trying to develop programs.” The argument in favor of CCTA won out due to the unprecedented collaboration by physician groups, some of whom are usually more rivals than allies, as their memberships seek control over cardiac CT. Included in the coalition were the Society of Cardiac Computed Tomography, American College of Cardiology, American College of Radiology, American Society of Nuclear Cardiology, North American Society for Cardiovascular Imaging, and Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions. Contributing to the cause was the Medical Imaging and Technology Alliance (MITA), a division within the National Electrical Manufacturers Association. In the end, however, the deci- Medicare decision sticky customer issues moments in medical history ✱ Commentary: Data migration—win, lose, or draw? Lobbying on Capitol Hill added political clout to peer-reviewed evidence favoring coronary CTA. Two members of the U.S. Senate and 11 of the House of Representatives wrote letters urging the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to reconsider a proposed national coverage determination that would limit patient access to cardiac CT angiography. They were joined by 75 other members of Congress who made the same request in a “Dear Colleague” letter to CMS, according to the Medical Imaging and Technology Alliance. A new ob/gyn scanner, the Voluson E8 Breakthrough 2008, debuted at the GE Healthcare booth this week during the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine meeting in San Diego. The ultrasound system, built on GE’s 4D Voluson platform, includes novel software that automatically calculates the number and volume of hypoechoic structures, such as ovarian follicles. This information will be useful when conducting scans in reproductive medicine, according to the company. Enhanced probe technology, available on the latest Voluson E8, better visualizes anatomical detail, GE said. The FDA has cleared Siemens to begin marketing four new CMS decision clears path for widespread adoption of coronary CTA. (Provided by GE Healthcare) Copyright © 1991-2008 CMP Healthcare Media Group LLC March 18, 2008
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