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CT Lung Screening Chats, Doc Pay Bump, and X-Ray Specs
July 10, 2025
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Together with
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“Most people don’t speak radiology. When I have received imaging results on my own, the technical language can feel impenetrable. It can be confusing, scary, or misleading.”
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Liz Salmi of OpenNotes/Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, on how AI can help translate radiology results for patients.
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Patients who talked about CT lung cancer screening with their doctors were more likely to actually follow through on getting scanned. That’s according to a study this week in CHEST that offers support for shared decision making – a process that some screening proponents have criticized.
The U.S. continues to see disappointing compliance rates for CT lung cancer screening, over 10 years after the USPSTF recommended the exam.
- Some lung screening proponents suggest that one barrier to screening is a CMS rule requiring a shared decision-making session between patients and doctors before the first scan is performed – a requirement that’s not in place for any of the other major cancer screening tests.
But the new study indicates that shared decision making could actually work to boost compliance.
- Researchers from the Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute led by first author YoonKyung Chung, PhD, examined lung screening compliance rates for 22.6k people who had their first CT exam between 2016 and 2019.
Researchers looked at differences in annual follow-up lung screening rates between people who got shared decision-making sessions and those who didn’t, finding…
- Only 11% of study participants had a session before their first scan.
- One year after the initial scan, those who participated in sessions were 27% more likely to get a follow-up exam.
- Four years later, the compliance rate rose to 33%.
If CMS requires shared decision-making sessions for reimbursement, why are they occurring so infrequently?
- The authors called this phenomenon “puzzling,” and suggested it’s because CMS is not enforcing the mandate through tools like claims denial. CMS could also boost utilization by providing higher reimbursement for the discussions.
The Takeaway
The new findings suggest that shared decision making should be viewed as an opportunity rather than a barrier to convincing patients of CT lung cancer screening’s value. The results track with other studies showing that a high-touch approach with tools like patient navigators can work.
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Advanced AI for Prostate MRI
QP-Prostate from Quibim is your advanced solution for detection and diagnosis of prostate cancer from MRI scans. Discover how it streamlines your workflow by detecting suspicious lesions, segmenting the prostate, and ensuring compliance with PI-RADS V2.1 guidelines.
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Presenting Unboxing AI
Check out CARPL’s video series, Unboxing AI, featuring experts discussing AI and its future in radiology. The next episode on July 10 features Amit Gupta, MD, of University Hospitals – reserve your seat today.
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- Big Budget Act Includes Doc Pay Bump: Healthcare-related coverage of the recently passed big budget reconciliation act has focused on its rural healthcare impact, but the legislation includes good news for physician payments. An ACR analysis says the new law includes a 2.5% increase to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule conversion factor for calendar year 2026. The increase goes most of the way toward compensating for a 2.8% conversion factor cut in 2025 MPFS payments, a cut Congress never got around to fixing.
- Radiologists See Pay Increase: Radiologists were among the medical specialists who saw the biggest salary increases in 2024 based on data from the latest AMGA survey on medical group compensation and productivity. AMGA’s specialist group that includes radiologists, anesthesiologists, and pathologists saw a 5.1% salary increase, slightly higher than the 4.9% compensation increase for all clinical physicians but lagging the 5.7% boost enjoyed by primary care doctors. The group saw wRVU productivity grow 1.8%, down from 5.8% growth previously.
- NHS Picks Quibim Prostate AI: Quibim scored a big victory in the U.K. when the NHS picked its QP-Prostate AI solution for analyzing prostate MRI scans to be rolled out across seven hospitals. The launch is part of a two-year project involving 3k patients that will investigate prostate AI’s impact on cancer diagnosis and early detection, as well as AI’s cost-effectiveness and ability to reduce diagnostic disparities.
- Eye-Tracking Study Supports Mammo AI: Research has shown AI helps radiologists interpret mammograms, but how exactly does it work? In a new study in Radiology, researchers found that in an experiment with 12 radiologists reading 150 mammograms, ScreenPoint Medical’s Transpara AI algorithm improved radiologist accuracy (AUC=0.97 vs. 0.93). An eye-tracking monitor showed that radiologists using AI spent 23% more time looking at areas with suspicious lesions (5.4 vs. 4.4 seconds), suggesting AI helps radiologists work more efficiently.
- Prenuvo Alzheimer’s Study Scores Award: A study led by Cyrus Raji, MD, using Prenuvo data on physical activity’s role in preventing dementia received an award from the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. Prenuvo researchers used MRI scans of 10.1k people to find that 25 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week was linked to greater brain volume in regions susceptible to Alzheimer’s. The award follows a string of recent Prenuvo studies that leverage the company’s large database of normative whole-body MRI scans to identify structural brain changes in asymptomatic people.
- AI of X-Ray for Osteoporosis: Another new study underscores the exciting potential of AI combined with classic radiography for opportunistic screening. In Journal of Orthopaedic Research, a team from Japan used their in-house AI algorithm to analyze 1.5k X-ray images, finding it had 86% sensitivity for detecting osteopenia in the lumbar vertebrae and 84% in the femur. Specificity ratings were also high, at 80% and 76%, respectively. X-ray-based osteoporosis screening could provide an alternative to screening with dedicated DEXA machines.
- Prostate Cancer Linked to Cardiac Plaque: Recent research has revealed a relationship between prostate cancer and cardiovascular health. Investigators looked into the link in a research letter in JACC: Advances using results from the REVELUTION-1 study of 87 men with prostate cancer. Those with high-risk cancer had higher rates of CT-derived coronary artery calcium scores ≥100 (58% vs. 31%), higher odds of CAC ≥ 100 (HR = 8.2), and 4X greater risk of having higher total plaque volume than men with low-risk cancer.
- Visage Lands $124M in New Contracts: Visage Imaging continued its streak of big enterprise imaging contracts in the U.S., signing two agreements worth a combined US$124M. The first installation will be with UCHealth of Colorado to replace a legacy PACS with the company’s Visage 7 Enterprise Imaging Platform under a 10-year agreement worth US$111M. The second contract is a five-year US$13M contract renewal with Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System in Louisiana.
- Premier’s Teleradiology Consolidation: Teleradiology provider Premier Radiology Services resumed its consolidation quest this week by acquiring MetisMD, a teleradiology firm focusing on musculoskeletal imaging. Chicago-based MetisMD was founded in 2005 by musculoskeletal radiologist Greg Goldstein, MD. The acquisition builds on Premier’s 2024 purchase of NationalRad, another subspecialty teleradiology provider.
- Imaging Services Firm Rebrands: PE-backed imaging services provider US Radiology Specialists is rebranding as Lumexa Imaging. Lumexa operates over 180 imaging centers in 13 states, with the company in the middle of a growth strategy that has seen it open six new outpatient centers in 2025 and 10 since October 2024. A recent study in AJR found Lumexa was the third-largest PE-backed imaging provider, after Radiology Partners and LucidHealth.
- SimonMed Boosts AI-Powered Screening: SimonMed is ramping up its offerings for AI-powered breast screening with two new services, Mammogram+ and Mammogram+ Heart. Mammogram+ replaces the company’s older Personalized Breast Cancer Detection program with a new service in which mammograms are analyzed by Lunit’s AI technology. Meanwhile, Mammogram+ Heart uses CureMetrix AI to screen mammograms for breast arterial calcification, a risk factor for heart disease. The services are available as an option for an additional charge – $50 for Mammogram+ and $90 for Mammogram+ Heart.
- SoCal Network to Pay for RadNet’s EBCD: Medical providers in a Southern California healthcare network have agreed to provide RadNet’s Enhanced Breast Cancer Detection mammography AI service to their members as a free benefit. Three groups in Heritage Provider Network will provide EBCD to all mammography-eligible patients, and RadNet will launch a patient outreach effort to boost breast screening compliance. RadNet usually offers EBCD for a $40 fee, but the new agreement makes the service available without patient out-of-pocket fees.
- X-Ray Specs Measure Radiation: A new proof-of-concept study gives new meaning to the term “X-ray specs.” Japanese researchers tested a radiation dosimeter integrated into eyewear in order to measure radiation dose to the eye lens, a particularly radiosensitive organ. The eyewear is based around Ag-doped phosphate glass that covers a large area in front of the eye and exhibits radio photoluminescence. When hit with ionizing radiation the glass emits light that can be measured with a compact readout system.
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Patient-Centered Innovation with Photon-Counting CT
Siemens Healthineers is committed to transforming medical imaging with its NAEOTOM Alpha class, now featuring three photon-counting CT systems. Find out how they can enhance your diagnostic results.
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AI-Assisted Early Heart Failure Detection
The Heart2Miss screening program in Malaysia drew attention at Heart Failure 2025 for its innovative approach to early heart failure detection. Discover how they screened 1k high-risk diabetic patients with handheld ultrasound and AI-assisted analysis from Us2.ai.
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Rewriting Cancer: How AI Could Reimagine Cancer Screening
Find out how DeepHealth is empowering breakthroughs in lung cancer detection with AI-driven technology in the #RewritingCancer digital series, which explores innovative solutions for cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.
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- AI Innovations in Lung Disease: Check out this on-demand webcast to hear from Riverain Technologies and GE HealthCare executives as they discuss AI applications developed to detect lung nodules, in particular how AI can be integrated into PACS.
- The Transformative Role of AI in Radiology: In this episode of The Radiology Report podcast, Medality’s Daniel Arnold sits down with Dr. John Simon, who shares his insights into the transformative role of AI in radiology and its ability to enhance efficiency, improve patient care, and unlock new diagnostic possibilities.
- Discover AI Apps Curated by Body Regions: Discover how Calantic Digital Solutions by Bayer supports you in tackling radiology challenges through multiple stages of the patient’s journey by offering AI solutions curated for specific body regions. Learn more about Calantic today.
- Diagnostic X-Ray Battery for Life: Discover the Radiography 7000 M from Philips, a premium mobile radiography system offering enhanced care and improved operational efficiency. Plus you’ll never have to pay to repair or replace the main system battery. Terms and conditions apply.
- AI for Hip Morphology Assessment: A new study validates the accuracy of Gleamer’s BoneMetrics AI solution for hip and pelvic assessment. BoneMetrics turned in high levels of accuracy and reproducibility – find out how it can simplify your daily and routine measurements.
- The Evolution of PACS: PACS has become the backbone of efficiency in modern radiology, evolving into sophisticated enterprise-wide imaging solutions. Discover how Intelerad’s IntelePACS can deliver the innovation, intelligence, and flexibility your imaging strategy needs by booking a demo.
- 2 Questions about AI for Radiology Leaders: Are today’s radiology AI solutions solving the right problems? And are there other solutions available for AI of brain MRI? Read this article from SpinTech MRI to learn how their STAGE solution can optimize MRI utilization.
- Powering Reporting Progress with Efficiency: Radiologists are looking to maximize their efficiency with new reporting tools that integrate easily with their PACS and RIS. Learn more about solutions from Kailo Medical in this Imaging Wire Show interview with Jason Mercieca and Dieter Smith.
- Perspectives on Cybersecurity in Medical Imaging: Healthcare organizations are a prime target for cyberattacks, so how can you proactively defend yourself against these threats? Learn how to protect your operations – and your patients – by watching this on-demand webinar from Merge.
- Reach New Heights with Enterprise Imaging Cloud: Embrace the potential of AGFA HealthCare’s Enterprise Imaging Cloud, a fully managed Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution that will transform the handling, storage, and accessibility of medical imaging data. Learn how EI Cloud can help you today.
- Unprecedented Insights Made Possible with AI: With the largest normative dataset of whole-body imaging in the world, Prenuvo’s AI researchers partner with the best academic minds to understand – like never before – what “normal” aging means. Learn about their work today.
- Unlock Next-Generation AI with Foundation Models: Learn about Microsoft’s new family of cutting-edge multimodal medical imaging foundation models designed for healthcare organizations to test, fine-tune, and build tailored AI solutions specific to their needs, while minimizing extensive compute and data requirements.
- Top-Tier Care at Rural Hospitals: Holzer Health System in Jackson, OH, treats local patients like family. In this video, learn how United Imaging equipped Holzer Health with its uMR 570 MRI scanner, helping them to offer top-tier care.
- The Advantages of Cloud-Based PACS: CloudPACS offers significant advantages to healthcare providers for enterprise imaging, including no on-premise requirements and enhanced reliability. Learn more about the advantages of CloudPACS in this talk from HIMSS 2025 by Visage Imaging’s Steve Deaton.
- Ahead in the Cloud: What do healthcare providers need to consider as they adopt cloud-based solutions for medical imaging? Read this article written for Mach7 Technologies by Eliot Siegel, MD, to learn the important role cloud-based technologies are having in shaping the future of healthcare.
- AI-Enabled DICOM Data Migration: What are the key elements of DICOM data migration? Visit this page for part 2 of Enlitic’s comprehensive guide, focusing on the critical steps of data extraction, normalization, and cleaning.
- Blackford Highlights from SIIM 2025: What were some of the highlights in the Blackford booth at SIIM 2025? We talked to Chief Product Officer Chris Meenan about the new alliances and technologies the AI platform company was showcasing in Portland.
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