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Summer 2025 Edition |
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Very popular years ago, although some still exist today, you’d drive into a gigantic open-air parking lot or field that had a massive screen to watch a movie from your car. Parking spaces would have small, wired speakers mounted on the inside of your car door or the dashboard.
Today, a new type of “drive-in” theater is emerging in the form of MRI machines, which allow children to watch movies while inside, thereby reducing their stress and the need for sedation, as determined by a study by the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The concept is known as audio-visual distraction (AVD).
You wouldn’t think it would require a formal study to figure out that kids would be less stressed and more prone to staying still if they’re watching something from Disney®, for example. But the study was done, and the results were compelling.
The technology involves a video projector that projects the movie onto the bore’s upper surface, making it usable for both head-first and feet-first positions. Other methods already being used for reducing stress, such as preparing the child in a mock MR setting, would continue to be used.
AVD here seems like such a commonsense approach for kids who need MRIs. Now, can someone figure out about the popcorn?
CMS’s proposed rule for the 2026 MPFS contains increases over the current (2025) rate. Note the plural on “increases” since for 2026, there will be two different fee schedules, both of which have increases over 2025.
Which of the schedules would apply to a particular provider? That will depend on whether the provider participates in Alternative Payment Models (APM). The conversion factor (CF) in the 2026 proposed rule is $33.5875 (up 3.83%) for qualified professionals (QPs) or $33.4209 (up 3.32%) for non-QPs, compared with the $32.3465 currently in use.
Both CF calculations apply a positive 0.55% budget neutrality factor and a 2.50% increase that was contained in the budget act (OBBBA) passed in July, to arrive at a baseline CF of $33.3375. However, the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA 2015) contained a requirement that participants in APMs would receive an additional 0.75% annual update beginning in 2026, while non-APM participants would receive a 0.25% annual update. Thus, the 2026 CF proposed for QPs becomes $33.5875 and for non-QPs becomes $33.4209.
Keep in mind that everything stated concerns the proposed rule. The hope is that the final rule won’t have any negative changes. The good news is that final CMS rules typically don’t waver significantly from what was proposed.
Click here for details from CMS.
(While anticipating an increase, you’ll still want to ensure your HCFA/UB/WC/NF/PIP claims are submitted for maximized value while you also track and report on patients’ attorneys, lien agreements, settlement payouts, and more. Outsourced services from ADSRCM or the in-house MedicsRIS from ADS will help you do that and drive your revenue and productivity!)
According to an August 2025 JAMA Health Forum report via a study by the University of Chicago, four of the most frequently provided low-value services for Medicare costs were for imaging. Examples of conditions for imaging include syncope, plantar fasciitis, and low back pain.
“Low-value services” were defined as those that offer little or no benefit and which may result in harm, such as by overdiagnosis. The researchers identified 47 low-value services in all. From 2018 to 2020, Medicare spending across 2.6 million cases of the 47 low-value services for the 3.7 million beneficiaries in the study was $3.6 billion per year, not including the patients’ total annual $800 million out-of-pocket costs.
Researchers concluded that scrutiny by Medicare could save billions of dollars without compromising patients’ health. They also noted that savings could be much more since they didn’t account for costs for subsequent care post-low-value interventions.
Click here for JAMA’s report and complete details.
(While CMS may consider them to be low value and perhaps even of no value, you no doubt perform these studies from which you must derive maximized revenue. The MedicsRIS from ADS or outsourced billing services from ADSRCM will help you do that!)
It shouldn’t be a surprise that when patients have limited primary care providers (PCPs), those patients have equally limited access to mammography screenings. This has been verified through a study by the University of Texas Southwestern (Dallas), which was subsequently published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
The test group was culled to three categories of women who were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer: (1) those who were never screened or screened within 5 years of being diagnosed, (2) those who were screened 2-5 years prior to their diagnoses, and (3) those who were screened within two years of being diagnosed. Half of the women in the study fell into the first category. They were also least likely to have had no access to a PCP.
Click here for the study and details.
(You need to track and manage your mammograms, patients’ appointments for them, and of course, reimbursements. ADS and ADSRCM have the tools necessary to help you master your mammography effort!)
That’s not just a mantra. It’s now been proven by way of functional MRI (fMRI) that exercise really does improve a person’s mood, according to a report in the International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, which states that vigorous aerobic exercise affects mood by eliminating the negatives and increasing the positives.
In other words, exercise reduces negative moods such as anxiety, depression, tension, and anger and increases positives such as energy and well-being. It’s all about the neural mechanisms that support mood changes associated with exercise, but the role of the lateral and medial amygdala hasn’t been thoroughly investigated. (“How’s your amygdala?”)
The study divided 76 people aged 18-22 years. Half performed 30 minutes of exercise while the other half completed a reading task in a resting state. All underwent fMRIs before and after their assignments. What was shown? The exercise group had enhanced functional connectivity of the right amygdala.
So, if you’re feeling down, get up!
According to the annual Radiology Sciences Staffing and Workplace Survey, as released by the American Society of Radiologic Technicians (ASRT), the vacancy rates are shown to remain high in CT, MRI, and bone densitometry (those vacancy rates increased). At the same time, other specialties in the survey decreased slightly but did remain above 2020’s numbers.
All in all, those staffing stats don’t present a great picture. What to do? The ASRT’s “Be Seen” campaign aims to raise awareness among potential technologists about the career path of a radiologic technologist, utilizing educational courses and patient testimonials.
And starting that potential career exposure can’t begin too soon, as middle and high school career centers are included in ASRT’s reach, bringing the message of the rewards in becoming a radiologic technologist. Scholarships and grants are being made available; it was reported that over $537,000 was provided in 2024.
Click here for the ASRT report and all its related stats.
(On administrative and “back of the house” staffing, ADSRCM and our outsourced, behind-the-scenes team of radiology workflow, EDI, and analytics experts, and AI-driven automation can offload so many routine, hands-on tasks. ADS clients who use the MedicsRIS as an in-house platform have many of those same AI-driven features available as well!)
There are so many “free radicals” flying around in the form of items that can knock you off course, cost you money, and expend your energies, none of which produce any revenue for you. Here’s the list and the fixes:
ADS and ADSRCM support everything mentioned, making attorney management so much easier for you and your staff.
ADS and ADSRCM support an AI-driven option that can dramatically reduce your incoming referral fax conundrum by automating it as described, eliminating the need for people to gather around dealing with incoming faxes.
CD burnings can be a thing of the past with digitized images, making it easier for you, your staff, and your patients. ADS and ADSRCM can help with that.
Capabilities like this help keep referrers referring and connected, as getting your reports is a hands-off task.
ADS and ADSRCM support automating your report deliveries to referring physicians, as described.
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We hope you enjoyed the read!
Please be in touch for more about our outsourced billing/revenue cycle management/RIS/analytics, and offsite staffing services for Radiology. Alternatively, we can provide details about MedicsRIS, our in-house, cloud-based platform from ADS if that’s preferred, or about both. Drive revenue and productivity in the way that works best for you!
rcminfo@adsc.com • 844-599-6881 • www.adsc.com
Disclaimer: Articles and content about governmental information (e.g., CMS, Medicare, Medicaid, MIPS, etc.) are presented by ADSRCM and ADS according to our best understanding. Please visit www.cms.gov or other reliable websites or organizations if clarifications are needed. ADSRCM/ADS are not responsible for typographical errors or changes that may occur after this newsletter has been produced. Visit www.adsc.com to view our most up-to-date information.
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Disclaimer: Articles and content about governmental information, such as CMS, Medicare, and Medicaid, are presented according to our best understanding. Please visit www.cms.gov if clarifications are needed. We are not responsible for typographical errors or changes that may have occurred after this newsletter was produced. We don’t endorse any companies or organizations mentioned in our newsletters; you are encouraged to do research and due diligence on any that might interest you.