Innovative Bill Revitalizes Health Care Research

Written by Ronny Bachrach on July 22, 2015. Posted in Digital Radiography and PACS, Hardware

While health care has made a lot of headway in the past, the industry still has a ways to go. There are obstacles that interfere with medical professionals performing their jobs and with patients receiving the care they need. However, that's about to change. In a 344-77 vote, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the 21st Century Cures Act (HR6), a bill designed to enhance health care research and speed up the creation of necessary treatments.

New treatments to reach public sooner
According to MedicineNet, a medication could take up to 12 years to go through development and gain Food and Drug Administration approval. Before trials even start, it may require a few years for preclinical testing and another month to have the investigational new drug application pass through the FDA. The three levels of clinical trials could take another three to six years. New drug applications could add even more time. The FDA has 60 days to file the paperwork, but it could take at least six to 10 months to see it approved.

With those kinds of delays, patients who could use the treatments at that time may not see the benefits once the medication or medical device is approved. However, the 21st Century Cures Act hopes to solve the problems associated with the time put into trials and approvals. The National Institute of Health will receive approximately $2 million for five years, and the FDA will obtain $550 million overall from the bill. The NIH will standardize clinical trial requirements to make it easier to find study participants and would call for additional evidence than just randomized trial reports, including case histories, registries and global research. A data sharing network would also be developed to allow scientists to collaborate and communicate on studies funded by the federal government.

HR6 would also take patients and promising young scientists into account when organizations conduct research. The NIH will be required to report programs they offer to new researchers, and it would help employees repay their school loans. When evaluating new drug applications, the FDA will also incorporate patient experiences into determining risks and benefits.

Radiology improvements on the way
Diagnostic imaging may also see additional gains from the passing of 21st Century Cures Act. The 25-percent professional component multiple procedure payment reduction policy, which was established to promote the transition from film to digital radiography, may be repealed, Diagnostic and Interventional Cardiology claimed. The PC MPPR significantly reduced reimbursements, which faced criticism from some medical professionals.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission established the policy in 2011 to prohibit the same doctor from performing various medical imaging tests on one patient in a single visit, the American College of Radiologists explained. Ideally, the rule would lower Medicare costs and create an efficient system. However, the ACR, which has been trying to eradicate PC MPPR since its implementation, believed there was no need for the plan. Each test produces a set of images, which may provide different information and insight into patients' conditions.

Now, with the likely approval of HR6 by the Senate, MPPR would be gone. Instead, an incentive payment program would take its place. Starting in 2017, services that still use film will see a 20-percent reduction in payments, according to Diagnostic and Interventional Cardiology. In 2023, there will also be a gradual 7-percent reduction in reimbursements for imaging facilities using computed radiography X-ray systems.

The 21st Century Cures Act may be able to create a more efficient health care system for patients with currently incurable conditions. By streamlining research, clinical trials, approvals and radiology, the federal government may be able to aid people who need treatments immediately.

Contact Viztek for more information.

Ronny Bachrach

Ronny Bachrach

Marketing Director at Viztek LLC
Responsible for all marketing activities including, press, advertising, trade show coordination, website management, dealer and customer communications.
Ronny Bachrach
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