News From Around the Web
> A former Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center radiology resident has filed suit against the hospital and four of its physicians alleging wrongful termination, discrimination, and disclosure of personal medical information. Christyna Faulkner's complaint alleges the Lebanon, N.H.-based hospital violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by discriminating against her because of a pre-existing condition and eventually terminating her in 2010, AuntMinnie.com reports. "What DHMC chose to do was intimidate, harass, and threaten me into leaving the residency program," Faulkner wrote in her petition. Article
> The Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute awarded research grants to six studies that will examine the role radiology will play in evolving healthcare delivery and payment models. The studies focus on four areas of interest: understanding the value of imaging in improving patient outcomes and reducing costs; examining the role imaging will play in the "next generation" of healthcare delivery models; analyzing the impact imaging has on care quality; and understanding how the changing regulatory and payment environment will affect imaging utilization and patient access to diagnostic care. Announcement
> Mammography plus tomosynthesis increases cancer detection by 11 percent and is particularly useful in detecting cancer in women with dense breasts, according to a study presented at the American Roentgen Ray Society annual meeting. "I am hopeful that my study will help raise awareness among physicians as well as women undergoing breast cancer screening," lead researcher Jaime Geisel, M.D., of the Yale University Smilow Cancer Hospital, said. "We recognize the numbers are still too small to draw significant conclusions, but the data is compelling." Announcement
Health IT News
> The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives believes that the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services should extend processes developed under the eRx and Electronic Health Record Incentive Payment programs to accelerate and improve health information exchange and interoperability among providers. Article
Health Finance News
> The owner and chief financial officer of Sacred Heart Hospital in Chicago, along with four affiliated physicians, has been arrested and charged with conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks for referrals of Medicare and Medicaid patients. Article
And Finally… Wallabies go walkabout in Austria? Article