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3/30/2010
Computed tomography (CT) scanners have been under a great deal of scrutiny recently following suggestions that the systems expose patients to too much radiation. Over the last year, US media outlets reported a number of cases where patients got an overdose of radiation during diagnostic tests, some of which resulted in skin burn and hair loss. The modality that boasts one of the fastest-growing procedure volumes in the diagnostic imaging market, CT scans provide rapid and high-quality images of internal structures based on the absorption of X-rays that pass through different parts of the body, using an array of detectors to capture the image. The systems use more radiation than X-Rays, but have proven popular among physicians as a fast and accurate method for diagnosis. Nevertheless, given the current controversy regarding dosage, system manufacturers are already making changes in both the technology and in the training programs they implement.
10/15/2009
Health care information technology (IT) solutions have gained increased public attention in the US following the publication of President Obama’s economic stimulus plan in early 2009. A significant slice of the stimulus money—$19 billion, to be exact—was earmarked as incentive to Medicare and Medicaid providers to adopt electronic health records (EHRs). As a result, industry leaders such as GE Healthcare and McKesson, as well as nonstandard health providers such as Wal-Mart, are all clamoring to develop or market EHRs.
9/30/2009
Critical care units across the US are facing increasing pressures from both shrinking budgets and growing patient volumes. Growth of the over-65 population, a demographic more likely to suffer from high-acuity conditions, continues to intensify the demand put on critical care units. Staffing and budget restrictions are, however, making meeting these requirements more difficult. Systems that can alleviate these pressures are thus in high demand.
7/21/2009
Although no country has been left unscathed by the current crisis, and 2009 will doubtless bring some drop in growth, emerging markets are revealing themselves to be areas with opportunity for diagnostic imaging system manufacturers.
4/15/2009
In a move that created considerable controversy across the health care community and beyond, US President Barack Obama added funds for the establishment of a comparative effectiveness program to his economic stimulus bill, passed on February 17, 2009. Comparative effectiveness programs, already in place in other countries (such as the UK’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence [NICE]), examine the results of different therapies on the same condition and recommends treatment algorithms.
4/15/2009
In the context of global economic downturn, American health care facilities are actively upholding the age-old adage “waste not, want not,” particularly in regard to the purchase of capital equipment, including advanced diagnostic imaging modalities such as computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and nuclear medicine systems.
4/15/2009
In 2004, President George W. Bush called for a transition from paper to electronic health records (EHRs), to be completed by 2014. Despite having backing from a presidential mandate, EHRs have had little success in penetrating the paperwork-saturated US health care system. While EHRs have been embraced in some larger hospitals and teaching facilities, many physician offices and ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) have yet to jump on the bandwagon. Although these systems have generated a lot of media attention, their adoption has been slow because process of their implementation is complex, involves many stakeholders, and requires a significant time commitment for training from busy medical professionals.
4/15/2009
Markets for picture archiving communications systems (PACS), radiology information systems (RIS), and cardiovascular information systems (CVIS) have suffered significant fallout from the US economic downturn. Valued at $1.8 billion in 2008, the market for these systems will actually fall over 2009, but will begin to recover in 2010.