The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA), which slashed Medicare reimbursement for diagnostic imaging, has resulted in layoffs and postponed plans for equipment acquisition, according to survey results in the July issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology.

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, led by Chairman Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., introduced legislation this week advocating for more government involvement in healthcare coverage. The bill is certain to launch a drawn-out debate over the current delivery direction of healthcare in the United States when it is introduced on the Senate floor in July.

The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT) will hold a series of two Town Call Web conferences on June 16 and 17 to gather stakeholder input on new paths to certification of EHR technologies.

Scientists at the Massachusetts Instutitue of Technology and other institutions have been experimenting with low-frequency, low-intensity ultrasound to provide a non-invasive alternative to techniques such as deep-brain stimulation and vagus nerve stimulation, used to treat a growing number of neurological disorders.

Amicas, a developer of image and information management solutions, showcased its Amicas Enterprise Content Manager, a vendor-neutral archive solution, at the 2009 Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine (SIIM) meeting in Charlotte, N.C.

A simple test involving breathing oxygen while undergoing an MRI might help oncologists determine the best treatment for some cancer patients, according to research that appeared online June 3 and is scheduled for publication in a future edition of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Stents coated with paclitaxel (Taxus from Boston Scientific) may be a safe, effective treatment option for coronary artery disease (CAD) patients age 70 and older, and should not be withheld due to advanced patient age, according to a study reported in the June 2 issue of Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions.

The FDA is developing a plan to modernize its IT systems and infrastructure in response to a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which revealed that the agency does not have such architecture in place to support its modernization efforts.