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The New York Times recently reported on Walmart’s expansion of primary care medical clinics in some of its stores. While that is not an immediate threat to imaging organizations, the program provides one example of the kind of emerging health care ventures forward-thinking imaging leaders should monitor. It’s usually smart to scan the horizon for tomorrow’s opportunities—and threats.
— Jim Knaub, editor |
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Health Care Delivery System Continues to Evolve
as Walmart Enters the Marketplace
By Jim Knaub
The New York Times recently reported on Walmart’s expansion of primary care medical clinics in six of its stores in Texas and South Carolina. The program aims to go one step beyond the quick walk-in clinics that have proliferated in recent years, according to the article. While these new clinics will still be staffed by limited license practitioners such as nurse practitioners, they hope to offer a broader range of primary care services, including some disease management services. The office visit charge will be $40, according to the article. The initial sites accept Medicare, but not other third-party insurance at this time. (Walmart employees and their dependents insured by the company will be charged $4 per visit.) Medicaid and other insurance plans are under consideration, according to a Walmart spokesperson.
So what does a Walmart test program mean to radiology? Probably nothing for now. These clinics are not offering any imaging services and probably won’t anytime soon, but that could change. It’s hardly a stretch to imagine that the retail giant with a nationwide footprint might want to carve itself a slice of this country’s $1.7 trillion health care market.
Full story » |
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Self-Assembling Nanoparticle Could Improve
MRI Scanning
for Cancer Diagnosis
Researchers at Imperial College London have developed a new, self-assembling nanoparticle that may increase the effectiveness of MRI scanning by identifying specific signals given off by cancerous cells, according to its press release.
Combination of FDG-Labeled Leucocytes, PET/CT
May Be Useful in Infection Diagnosis
SNMMI reports that researchers from the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh, India, successfully diagnosed infection in patients with pancreatic fluid collections through a process that involved the use of FDG-labeled leucocytes and PET/CT imaging.
Standardized Prescription of Single-Fraction Radiation Therapy
Could Lead to Savings, Improved Quality of Life
A study published in the August 1, 2014, edition of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, and Physics found that standardizing the prescription practices for single-fraction radiation therapy for palliation of bone metastases could lead to cost savings and an improved quality of life for patients.
Johns Hopkins University Developing Online Database
of Pediatric MR Images
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine hope that the creation of a cloud-based database composed of normal and abnormal MRI images of children’s brains will ultimately lead to improvements and treatments, according to an RSNA article. |
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Technology Update: DR
In Part 2 of Radiology Today’s discussion on DR technology updates, four manufacturers add their observations about current market trends and provide an overview of their latest products. Read more »
Improving Stroke Assessment
Johns Hopkins researchers have developed a new technique that utilizes MRI and can predict with 95% accuracy which ischemic stroke patients could benefit from the use of a clot-busting drug and which could suffer potentially lethal brain bleeding. Read more »
Reading Room Redux
The space where radiologists work affects their productivity. As a result, many have a bigger say in how their workspace looks and feels in order to ensure maximum efficiency. Read more »
Business Analytics
Benchmarking business processes and performance metrics for industry best practices through the use of major surveys rose to prominence in the 1980s, and recently several companies have begun filling the growing need for real-time specialty-specific data. Read more » |
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