• Initial Clinical Results of Konica Minolta Healthcare’s Dynamic Digital Radiography Presented at ATS 2018 Annual Meeting
  May 24, 2018
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Initial Clinical Results of Konica Minolta Healthcare’s Dynamic Digital Radiography Presented at ATS 2018 Annual Meeting
WAYNE, N.J., May 24, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Konica Minolta Healthcare Americas, Inc., announced that two clinical studies utilizing Dynamic Digital Radiography (DDR), the company’s innovative X-ray technology under development, were presented at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) 2018 Annual Meeting this week. Dynamic Digital Radiography is a new modality that utilizes conventional X-ray images and Konica Minolta's proprietary software platform to create X-ray in Motion. DDR is the most significant advancement in X-ray since digital radiography was introduced.

X-ray in Motion of the chest provides a visual display of the dynamic interactions of lung, muscle, bone, heart and nerve, not captured by either a conventional static X-ray or the common pulmonary function test (PFT). This allows clinicians to visualize and quantify physiological changes in anatomical structures during the complete respiratory cycle. Previously, respiration could only be radiologically assessed using fluoroscopy, which involves higher levels of radiation exposure. X-ray in Motion may better enable clinicians to evaluate chest and lung function in patients with pulmonary diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma and lung cancer.

At the ATS meeting, the study, A New Technology: The Dynamic Image of a Forced Breath Compared to a Tidal Breath Uncovers a Physiological Phenomenon in COPD, was presented, demonstrating a correlation to the severity of COPD and diaphragm excursion during forced and tidal breathing using DDR. The research concluded that DDR may be a clinically relevant option to assess COPD severity in the acute setting and for patients unable to perform PFTs. This study was conducted by the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, and Department of Radiology from Mount Sinai (New York, NY).

The research study, Evaluation of Pulmonary Function Using Dynamic Chest Radiographs: The Change Rate in Lung Area Due to Respiratory Motion Reflects Air Trapping in COPD, was also presented. The researchers investigated DDR as an alternative for the evaluation of pulmonary function in COPD patients by examining the change rate in lung area due to respiratory motion in patients with COPD and in subjects with normal pulmonary function. The study found that DDR is a viable alternative indicator for air trapping in COPD. Air trapping is the abnormal retention of air in the lungs making it difficult to exhale completely. This study was performed by the Departments of Respiratory Medicine, Thoracic, Cardiovascular and General Surgery, and College of Medical, Pharmaceutical & Health Sciences at Kanazawa University (Kanazawa, Japan).

Digital Radiography, or X-ray, is a primary diagnostic technology that is widely available throughout the world. Konica Minolta is investing in the development new clinical applications and tools for existing technology, such as digital radiography, that can deliver more information to clinicians than previously attainable while supporting the reduction of healthcare expenditures. Using readily available X-ray systems, DDR can provide incremental value for diagnosis, ongoing disease management, preoperative planning and post-operative assessment, without subjecting the patient to multiple and often more expensive tests.

Dynamic Digital Radiography represents ongoing research and development at Konica Minolta. It is not cleared by the FDA for commercial distribution or available for sale in the United States.

About Konica Minolta Healthcare Americas, Inc.

Konica Minolta Healthcare is a world-class provider and market leader in medical diagnostic imaging and healthcare information technology. With over 75 years of endless innovation, Konica Minolta is globally recognized as a leader providing cutting-edge technologies and comprehensive support aimed at providing real solutions to meet customer's needs and helping make better decisions sooner. Konica Minolta Healthcare Americas, Inc., headquartered in Wayne, NJ, is a unit of Konica Minolta, Inc. (TSE:4902). For more information on Konica Minolta Healthcare Americas, Inc., please visit www.konicaminolta.com/medicalusa.
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• An update to Our Privacy Policy and our Terms and Conditions
  April 4, 2018
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An update to Our Privacy Policy and our Terms and Conditions
CMS Imaging, Inc. has updated our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions as of May 24,2018. These changes were made in preparation for the European Union's new data privacy law, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

With these updates , CMS Imaging, Inc. reaffirms our commitment to safeguarding the personal data of our contacts and anyone who visits our website. We embrace privacy by design, which means we will continue to build features with privacy considered alongside innovation and functionality.

We encourage you to take the time to review our revised Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions. By continuing to use CMS Imaging, Inc's website on or after May 24, 2018 you acknowledge our updated Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.

As CMS Imaging, Inc continues to grow and evolves, we will continue to focus on strengthening and improving our privacy policies and tools, for the benefit of our contacts and website visitors.

See our new Privacy Policy at www.cmsimaging.com/privacy.html

See our new Terms and Conditions at www.cmsimaging.com/terms.html

For more information visit contact us at: privacy@cmsimaging.com
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• CMS Imaging welcomes Christopher Ryan
  May 14, 2018
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  CMS Imaging welcomes Christopher Ryan

  CMS Imaging welcomes Christopher Ryan to the Team!
  
  Chris will be our new Medical Accounts Manager in South Florida, reporting to JB Glass. Chris's first day will be Monday, May 14, 2018.
  
  Please join us in welcoming Chris!

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• How much are patients paying out of pocket for advanced imaging services?
  May 7, 2018
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  How much are patients paying out of pocket for advanced imaging services?

  Michael Walter, Radiology Business, February 22, 2018, http://www.radiologybusiness.com/topics/healthcare-economics-policy/how-much-are-patients-paying-out-pocket-advanced-imaging

  Patients are often required to pay high out-of-pocket costs for advanced imaging services, especially when out of their network, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American College of Radiology. The authors suggested that radiologists should communicate these costs to patients to help prevent “surprise billing.”
  
  “To interact more effectively with their patients, health systems and policymakers, radiologists should become more familiar with the various factors influencing their patients’ out-of-pocket expenses for imaging examinations in their local private insurance market places,” wrote lead author Andrew B. Rosenkrantz, MD, MPA, of the department of radiology at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York. “With greater awareness of patients’ out-of-pocket cost responsibilities, radiologists may be more judicious in recommending additional or follow-up imaging, knowing that those recommendations frequently translate into high costs borne substantially, and sometimes completely, by their patients.”
  
  The authors, wanting to take a deep dive into these out-of-pocket costs, turned to extensive data from the 2017 CMS Health Insurance Marketplace Benefits and Cost Sharing Public Use file. Overall, 48 percent of health plans required coinsurance for advanced imaging services, more than 9 percent required copays and 8 percent required both. More than 34 percent of plans required no coinsurance or copay. For out-of-network advanced imaging services, more than 91 percent of plans required coinsurance, 0.1 percent required copayments and 1 percent required both. More than 7 percent of those plans required no coinsurance or copay.
  
  The study also found that, when deductibles are present, patients were responsible for more than 27 percent through coinsurance in network and more than 47 percent out of network. And when deductibles were present, the average copays were $319 in network and $630 out of network. With no deductible present, the average coinsurance burden for patients was 99.9 percent.
  
  “Overall, patients’ out-of-pocket cost responsibilities for advanced imaging are quite variable and can be particularly high in many circumstances because advanced imaging most commonly requires coinsurance from patients,” the authors wrote.
  
  Rosenkrantz et al. also looked at state-level variation in the average coinsurance burden for patients both in and out of network. For example, the average in-network patient coinsurance was more than 33 percent in New Jersey and just 1.4 percent in Alabama.
  
  “There was a tendency for out-of-network coinsurance responsibilities to be higher in lower income states,” the authors wrote. “This observation highlights how variation in the benefit design of available plans at the regional level can potentially create disproportionate cost burdens on financially disadvantaged patients. Such economic disparities could limit vulnerable populations’ access to imaging services.”
  
  In this era of value-based care, knowing more about these statistics and using that information to educate patients is especially important. “To optimally guide individual patients in an era of shared decision making in an environment of imaging stewardship, radiologists may need to integrate the findings of studies they interpret with further awareness of individual patients’ insurance coverage and financial means to afford recommended testing,” Rosenkrantz and colleagues concluded. “Through such understanding, radiologists may be able to help patients become better informed upfront about types of imaging examinations and potential alternative sites of service, thus reducing their risk for large surprise bills.”

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• Konica Minolta Healthcare Introduces KDR Primary to Meet the Digital Radiography Needs of Office-based Imaging Providers
  April 19, 2018
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  Konica Minolta Healthcare Introduces KDR Primary to Meet the Digital Radiography Needs of Office-based Imaging Providers

  WAYNE, N.J., April 19, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Designed to meet the needs of office-based X-ray imaging, such as orthopedic groups, family practices and urgent care centers, Konica Minolta Healthcare Americas, Inc. introduced the KDR Primary Digital Radiography System at the American Association of Orthopedic Executives (AAOE) 2018 Annual Conference. KDR Primary delivers advanced digital X-ray capabilities and exceptional functionality in a compact footprint. It is the ideal solution for practices and clinics that want superior image quality and versatile imaging options yet have a limited amount of space.
  
  Building on the success of the KDR Advanced U-arm System, KDR Primary helps optimize workflow, expedite the diagnostic process and increase staff efficiency all while elevating the patient experience. Equipped with a 17 x 17 inch detector, KDR Primary captures high resolution images in seconds, providing detailed bone and soft tissue visualization from a single exposure. Practices and clinics can enhance patient satisfaction by providing rapid diagnostic results without the need to schedule additional appointments or refer elsewhere.
  
  KDR Primary has a wide range of motion to enable all required imaging views. The swivel arm rotates 135 degrees in both directions and moves 39 inches vertically while the detector tilts 45 degrees in two directions to accommodate patients who are standing, sitting, lying on a table or confined to a wheelchair. The space saving design provides staff with the freedom to maneuver the system for true exam flexibility that can translate to exceptional patient care and potentially help reduce retakes due to incorrect patient positioning or movement. It can be installed in a standard room with an 8 ft. ceiling. Options include a weight-bearing stand and pediatric imaging package.
  
  “At Konica Minolta, we are focused on answering our customer’s clinical needs by delivering new innovations in imaging technology such as KDR Primary that allow for more personalized patient care,” says Kirsten Doerfert, Sr. Vice President of Marketing, Konica Minolta Healthcare. “The KDR Primary fulfills an imaging need for which our customers have been asking for a solution and provides the same superior imaging, reliability and performance inherent in all our DR systems.”
  
  About Konica Minolta Healthcare Americas, Inc.
  
  Konica Minolta Healthcare is a world-class provider and market leader in medical diagnostic imaging and healthcare information technology. With over 75 years of endless innovation, Konica Minolta is globally recognized as a leader providing cutting-edge technologies and comprehensive support aimed at providing real solutions to meet customer's needs and helping make better decisions sooner. Konica Minolta Healthcare Americas, Inc., headquartered in Wayne, NJ, is a unit of Konica Minolta, Inc. (TSE:4902). For more information on Konica Minolta Healthcare Americas, Inc., please visit www.konicaminolta.com/medicalusa.

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