July 11, 2008) The Joint Commission and the Urgent Care Association of America (UCAOA) have partnered to provide quality oversight for urgent care clinics, which provide walk-in treatment for many injuries, illnesses and conditions ranging from minor sore throats to head injuries.

RT PACS Streamlines Dynamic Workflow
RT PACS Streamlines Dynamic Workflow

This year, more than 1.4 million Americans will be cancer patients, according to an American Cancer Society report. Unfortunately, with an aging U.S. population — approximately 17 percent of Americans are over the age of 60, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and millions of Baby Boomers will turn 60 over the next decade — cancer rates won’t be declining anytime soon.

The radiation oncology community is increasingly more optimistic about winning the battle against breast cancer. This hope is in part due to the many developments in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for breast cancer used for diagnosis, staging, pretreatment and preoperative planning. Simultaneously, researchers are developing new techniques in radiosurgery for treating cancerous tumors in the breast and are turning out promising results from these preliminary studies.

It is based on decades-old tomogram technology; even more surprising is the concept behind it is inspired in part by formulas conceived by a mathematician on a blackboard at the turn of the 20th century.

July 11, 2008 - A new study that found wireless systems that track hospital medical equipment can cause potentially hazardous incidents involving lifesaving devices may have caused needless alarmed, says a biomedical engineering technology professor at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI).

July 11, 2008 - Oshkosh Specialty Vehicles, an Oshkosh Corp. company, delivered a magnetic-resonance imaging (MRI) mobile vehicle to the Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center in Waco, TX, at a dedication ceremony on Tuesday, July 1.
The unit will help the hospital better serve its veteran patients, giving them easier access to the latest MRI technology.

July 11, 2008 — Carestream Health Inc. said it has received regulatory approval from Health Canada for the mammography feature offered with its new KODAK DIRECTVIEW Classic and Elite CR systems, allowing Canadian healthcare facilities to perform mammography exams with these CR systems.

The KODAK DIRECTVIEW CR Mammography Feature includes: two-up image printing aligned with the narrow chest wall; support for interfaces that expedite the exchange of image information with other vendors’ digital mammography and RIS/PACS systems; and reduction of digital artifacts at the skin line.

July 11, 2008 - Two prostate cancer patients became the first people in New York to receive a faster, more comfortable form of highly accurate radiotherapy in pioneering treatments at Radiation Oncology Associates of New York (a Division of Integrated Medical Professionals, PLLC).


Many of our readers are wondering how the federal health policy to require a 10.6 percent cut in Medicare’s physician reimbursement rates on July 1, 2008, and an additional 5 percent on January 1, 2009, will affect capital equipment purchases, technology and staffing.


The recent OTech Webcast on career opportunities in PACS and healthcare IT drew not only hundreds of attendees but also a very animated discussion from the audience, addressing the technical and clinical backgrounds of PACS administrators, the value of experience and new opportunities in clinics and smaller institutions. Audience questions included:
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