- ACR Foundation Launches Haiti Radiology Relief Fund
ACR Daily News Scan
In response to the vast medical needs and human suffering resulting from the recent, devastating earthquake in Haiti, the ACR Foundation has launched the Haiti Radiology Relief Fund. The Fund will help supply health care facilities in Haiti with necessary radiological support – including radiology equipment, supplies, materials as well as physician and medical physicist volunteers. - CMS Cancels Change Request 6375: Place of Service/Date of Service Instructions for Professional/Technical Component of Diagnostic Tests
ACR Daily News Scan
Last year Medicare released a transmittal that required physicians to report the specific date of service and place of service of where the professional and technical component is provided. The ACR is happy to announce that CMS realizes there are difficulties with complying with these new regulations and has rescinded them until further clarification can be provided.
- 2010 CMS PQRI Continues 2% Bonus
ACR Daily News Scan
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service (CMS) 2010 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) is underway. Legislation continued the 2% bonus on total allowable Medicare charges for individual participants who successfully report quality measures in 2010. - ACR Responds to New York Times Articles on Adverse Events in Radiation Therapy
ACR Daily News Scan
On Monday, Jan. 25, the ACR responded with a letter to the editor of the New York Times regarding a series of articles concerning adverse events associated with radiation oncology treatments performed in New York State and elsewhere. - February Issue of JACR Features Significant Articles Regarding Radiation Safety
JACR News Release
The February issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology is now online. The issue features articles on radiation safety, including efforts by the NIH to assess radiation exposure and the role of epigenetics in determining radiation risk. The issue also includes a study that examines the effectiveness of videoconferencing in engaging rural doctors in CME activities. - ACR to Co-Sponsor CT Dose Summit on Scan Parameter Optimization
ACR Daily News Scan
The ACR, along with several other organizations, is helping to fund a CT Dose Summit on Scan Parameter Optimization, organized by the American Association of Physicists in Medicine, April 29- 30, 2010, in Atlanta, GA. - ACR Designated a National Medical Imaging Accrediting Body by CMS
ACR Daily News Scan
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has selected the American College of Radiology (ACR), the nation’s oldest and most widely recognized medical imaging and radiation oncology accrediting body, as a designated accrediting organization for medical imaging facilities, able to satisfy all accreditation requirements for providers of advanced medical imaging mandated by the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA). - February Issue of AJR Features Significant Studies Regarding Women’s Health and Radiation Safety
AJR News Release
The February issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology, published by the American Roentgen Ray Society, is now online. The issue focuses on women's health topics including digital mammography, diagnosing early-stage ovarian cancer, and lowering CT radiation dose. - Brown Victory Clouds Next Move in Health Care Reform Effort
ACR Daily News Scan
The election of Republican Scott Brown to fill the seat of the late Edward Kennedy (D-MA) has complicated the next steps in the process to enact health care reform. Democratic lawmakers have been negotiating during the last several weeks with the White House to iron out differences between the House and Senate plans with the hope of generating one final package that both chambers would seek to pass. - Special ACR Statement on the Earthquake in Haiti
Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers go out to all those directly and indirectly affected by the devastating earthquake in Haiti this week. The ACR Foundation has begun to make contact with individual radiologists who have provided service in that country. Through these contacts, the ACR Foundation will assess what direct or indirect assistance we may be able to facilitate in the affected region. For your convenience, here is a listing of international aid organizations that are working to serve the immediate needs on the ground in Haiti. Your generosity will be very much appreciated by those in need of our help. - ACR Statement on Airport Full-body Scanners and Radiation
ACR Daily News Scan
Amid concerns regarding terrorists targeting airliners using weapons less detectable by traditional means, the Transportation Security Administration is ramping up deployment of whole body scanners at security checkpoints in U.S. airports. These systems produce anatomically accurate images of the body and can detect objects and substances concealed by clothing.
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- Hyponatremia May Up Risk of Fracture
Reuters Health
Mild hyponatremia is associated with an increased fracture risk independent of osteoporosis, Irish researchers report in the January 7th online issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. - Chemoradiation After Pancreatic Cancer Surgery Adds Months to Survival
Reuters Health
Chemoradiotherapy after resection for pancreatic adenocarcinoma improved survival by an average of about 4 months in a large registry study.
- Cone Biopsies of Cervix Tied to Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes
Reuters Health
Cone biopsy of the cervix (i.e., conization) increases the risk of preterm delivery and perinatal mortality, two European papers in the January BJOG confirm. - Pertuzumab Useful for Trastuzumab-Resistant HER2-Positive Breast Cancer
Reuters Health
When given with trastuzumab, pertuzumab, a HER2-targeted monoclonal antibody, can be an effective treatment for HER2-positive breast cancer that progressed during prior trastuzumab therapy, new research suggests. - CT Better Than MRI for Ruling Out Coronary Disease
Reuters Health
When a noninvasive test for ruling out coronary artery disease is appropriate, computed tomography (CT)-based angiography is more sensitive and specific than magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based angiography, a new meta-analysis shows. - Genetic Variant Predicts Aggressive Gastric Cancer
Reuters Health
Patients with gastric cancer who have a germline polymorphism in the CD44 gene have much more aggressive disease and are at higher risk for tumor recurrence than patients without this variation, according to new research presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's 2010 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium. - Neoadjuvant Capecitabine/Oxaliplatin Improves Outcome of Poor-Risk Rectal Cancer
Reuters Health
Downstaging locally advanced rectal cancer with capecitabine and oxaliplatin prior to surgery and chemoradiotherapy may improve survival, a phase II trial suggests. - Treating Subclinical Neonatal Seizures May Prevent Brain Injury
Reuters Health
Prompt treatment of subclinical and clinical seizures in newborns with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) can potentially decrease brain injury, according to a prospective trial from Belgium and the Netherlands. - Acute Reactions to Gadolinium-Based Contrast Agents Are Rare, Study Finds
Reuters Health
The rate of acute allergic reactions to gadolinium-based contrast agents is low, according to a retrospective study from the Massachusetts General Hospital. - Noncontrast CT Accurately Diagnoses Acute Appendicitis in Adults
Reuters Health
Noncontrast computed tomography is sensitive and specific for acute appendicitis in adults and is a reasonable alterative to CT with contrast, according to a systematic review published in the January Annals of Emergency Medicine. - 2010 Annual Meeting of the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements
The primary goal of the 2010 NCRP Annual Meeting will be to examine key issues, current controversies, and new tools and findings related to radiation risk communication.
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