CMS Imaging

25 Feb
2019

Amazon steps into Healthcare

In 1994, a relatively unknown former investment banker decided that he had a better way to sell books than the typical brick and mortar stores. He named this company Cadabra and consulted with former executives in the publishing industry to provide consumers a new way to shop for books.

His lawyer told him that 'Cadabra' sounded too much like 'Cadaver,' so he then tried out 'Relentless.' This time his friends advised him that this name was too aggressive for a business. By now, most of you will know this is the story of Jeff Bezos and the founding of Amazon. (If you type relentless.com into your browser, guess where the page redirects.) Over the next 25 years, Jeff Bezos and Amazon have rewritten business as we know it and has turned many industries on their heads.

Healthcare

February 25, 2019

Phil Reichner

0 Comments

21 Jan
2019

The Nightmare Continues...

The Importance of Cybersecurity for Medical IOT Devices

A few months ago, I wrote about "21st Century Consumerism and the Nightmare of Prior Authorizations" . Well, it seems that I am not the only one that sees them as such, this week the American Medical Association (AMA) released a video entitled "Prior Authorization is a Nightmare."

Throughout the video, physicians of varied specialties speak about how prior authorizations has affected their practices and the impact they have on their patients. Two eye-opening statistics delivered in this video are that as of the "December 2017 AMA Prior Authorization Physician Survey" *:

Prior Authorizations

Jan. 21, 2019

Phil Reichner

0 Comments

17 Dec
2018

The Importance of Cybersecurity for Medical IOT Devices

Previously, we wrote about the growing importance of cybersecurity and the ever-increasing threats to our internet-based computers and equipment (Cybersecurity) and how Artificial Intelligence will soon affect the medical imaging industry (Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning). Today, I would like to explore a threat that will soon be on the horizon and combines these two topics, cyber-terrorism.

According to Black Book Research*, 90% of healthcare organizations have had some form of data breach since July 2016, with almost 50% of these organizations recording five or more breaches. The same report revealed that 96% of IT professionals believed that data attackers are outpacing their medical enterprises, putting these healthcare organizations at a continued disadvantage.

Cybersecurity

Artificial Intelligence

Dec. 17, 2018

Phil Reichner

0 Comments

12 Nov
2018

Rural Healthcare in Crisis

“Farm livin’ is the life for me, land spreading out so far and wide, Keep Manhattan just give me that countryside.” Theme from Green Acres, Television sitcom from 1965-71.

In the show, the main character Oliver Wendell Douglas (Eddie Arnold), ditches his New York legal practice to become a farmer in rural America. Unfortunately, today what Mr. Douglas would also experience with “farm livin’” is his access to health care, and indeed his health might be at risk if he continued to live there.

Rural Healthcare

Nov. 12, 2018

John Lilly

1 Comment

18 Oct
2018

"Hey, you got any of those Visa Gift Cards?"

"Phil,
I am about to run into a meeting and need some Visa Gift cards for a customer. Can you run to the store and pick up $500 in Visa Gift cards and then send me the numbers?
Thanks,
John"

By now, we all have received this email or know someone who has. The name is from someone in our organization, but the email address is not familiar. Maybe our coworker sent it accidentally from their personal email address? Perhaps they did, but chances are it is an attempt at getting you to send some money to someone you do not know.

Cybersecurity

Oct. 18, 2018

Phil Reichner

0 Comments

29 Aug
2018

The Rise of the Machines

Arnold Schwarzenegger and the fictional Terminator movie franchise popularized the idea of machines surpassing human intelligence, and we all laughed (or cried, depends on who's side you were on in the movie).However, in today's world, this fictional story of machines being able to "think" and "learn" is now a reality. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are behind some of today's most popular technologies. Take for example Google's Assistant who recently called and made a reservation at a hair salon (View it here) in such a manner that myself and the person on the other end of the phone thought it was a human being. Scary, huh

AI

August 29, 2018

Phil Reichner

1 Comment

8 Aug
2018

Chinese Che$$

Growing up, I remember playing Chinese Checkers, which appeared to me to be a more interesting version of checkers that I’d play with my grandfather. When I got older, I found out that Chinese Checkers was actually a German game, and though similar in many ways, it wasn’t checkers. Much later, I saw some gentlemen in San Francisco’s Chinatown play what I thought was chess- but it was Chinese Chess. Chinese Chess (Xiangqi) is similar to Western Chess, but with a few variations. The rules prohibit the main pieces (generals) from facing each other directly; areas on the board called the river and palace, which restrict the movement of some pieces (but enhance that of others); and placement of the pieces on the intersections of the board lines, rather than within the squares. (Wikipedia). I was trying to identify the pawns and Queen- their game had different pieces and moved in strange ways according to my knowledge base of what I thought I was seeing.

All of this is very analogous to the current burgeoning trade war between the United States and China, which has very real ramifications for the medical imaging industry- and virtually everything in between.

Tariffs

August 8, 2018

John Lillie

0 Comments

20 July
2018

21st Century Consumerism and the Nightmare of Prior Authorizations and Payment Solutions

The 21st Century is a marvel of information technology moving at the speed of light. Today's consumer is well informed, more so than any other time in history due to the improved communication that comes from the internet, apps, and social media platforms. With the increasing amounts of information available today, businesses have noticed an emerging hyper-consumerism in today's marketplace. Consumers spend more time researching the purchase of a good or service now than ever before. One of the most prolific industries examined by today's consumers is the healthcare industry.

Prior Authorizations

July 19, 2018

Phil Reichner

0 Comments

9 July
2018

That can you kicked down the road?
Don't look now but it's starting to roll back!

The Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 (PAMA) calls for the implementation of Clinical Decision Support Mechanisms (CDSM) which utilize Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved appropriate use criteria (AUC).These CDSMs must be consulted prior to completing an order for either CT, MRI, Nuclear Medicine, or PET studies for Medicare outpatients in any non-inpatient place of service.

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Amazon steps into Healthcare

The Nightmare Continues...

The Importance of Cybersecurity for Medical IOT Devices

Rural Healthcare in Crisis

"Hey, you got any of those Visa Gift Cards?"

The Rise of the Machines

Chinese Che$$

21st Century Consumerism and the Nightmare of Prior Authorizations and Payment Solutions

That can you kicked down the road?
Don't look now but it's starting to roll back!