Health Imaging & IT - January 2009 - (Page 5)

neWs UpDATe Economic News BUsiness BUZZ  Study: PHRs could save U.S. $21B annually Personal health records (PHRs) could save $21 billion annually and result in an annual net value of $19 billon based on a 10-year rollout and a usage rate of 80 percent of the U.S. population, according to a study from Center for Information Technology Leadership (CITL), a research center based at Partners HealthCare System. CITL examined the cost-benefit of PHRs and the ways providers and patients can integrate four model architectures. CITL found that the benefits and annual savings far outweigh the costs of implementing the PHR architectures, and it concludes that an interoperable PHR is the investment that will provide the value to the national healthcare system and the maximum value of PHRs. requardt replaces reid-Anderson as CeO of siemens healthcare Hermann Requardt has replaced Jim Reid-Anderson as CEO of the healthcare sector of Siemens Healthcare. The company said that Reid-Anderson resigned for “personal reasons.” He served in the position for seven months.  FDA panel rejects Acusphere contrast agent The FDA’s Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee recommended the rejection of the regulatory application of Acusphere’s Imagify heart contrast agent because its benefits do not sufficiently justify the risks associated with the product. Cancer deaths will cost U.S. nearly $150B by 2020 The economic cost of death due to cancer is staggering in the United States, regardless of whether researchers estimate the economic impact in lost work productivity or in a more global measure using the value of one year of life, according to two studies published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.  Agfa teams with Median for CT oncology application Agfa HealthCare has integrated Median Technologies’ Lesion Management Solutions, which provides advanced clinical applications for CT oncology for liver and lung, directly on the Impax desktop. Medicare, Medicaid underpayments cost consumers, employers $90B Low Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements to hospitals and physicians have lead to significantly higher health insurance costs for consumers and employers, according to a study released by Milliman. The report found that annual healthcare spending for an average family of four is $1,788 higher than it would be if Medicare, Medicaid and private employers paid hospitals and physicians similar rates, with total provider reimbursement unchanged.  Orthocrat, Terarecon merge orthopedic templating apps Orthocrat unveiled an integration of its 3D orthopedic templating with TeraRecon’s Aquarius iNtuition visualization platform. ACQUisiTiOn neWs Toshiba buys Barco advanced visualization business Barco is selling its advanced visualization business to Toshiba Medical Systems of Tokyo, Japan, via its newly formed, wholly owned subsidiary, Toshiba Medical Visualization Systems Europe, in Edinburgh, Scotland. For Toshiba, the acquisition will build in-house critical core competencies—the development of 3D volume rendering and advanced visualization capabilities for all Toshiba modalities. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2009.  philips to cut 5% of work force Philips Healthcare cut 5 percent of its work force, or 1,600 jobs worldwide. The company said the job cuts were necessary to improve its healthcare margins and streamline operations, particularly in its imaging systems business. Fujiﬁlm acquires Empiric Systems Fujifilm Medical Systems has acquired 100 percent of Empiric Systems’ stock, making it a wholly owned Fujifilm subsidiary. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Fujifilm said the companies’ web-based applications have been combined, and the integrated solution has a single sign-on and single graphical user interface for the radiologist and clinician. STAY CONNECTED: for daily news, log onto Healthimaging.com Healthimaging.com January 2009 | Health Imaging & IT 5 http://www.Healthimaging.com http://www.Healthimaging.com

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Health Imaging & IT - January 2009 Contents The Enterprise News Update DR Breathes New Life into Radiography Radiology in the Spotlight Educational Sessions Keynote Addresses Tech Trends on the Exhibit Floor Imaging Tools Managing Technology People & Technology Reader's Resource

Health Imaging & IT - January 2009

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