by
Olga Deshchenko, DOTmed News Reporter | December 30, 2010
The festive feel of a year's end marked is often accompanied by a need for reflection. Although the devastating earthquake in Haiti and a major oil leak in the Gulf captivated the general public, health care also captured a good chunk of the attention. In fact, more than half of Americans said they followed the news of health care reform very closely in 2010, according to the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. Keeping with the spirit of this time of the season, DOTmed News takes a look back at the top 10 stories that impacted the health care industry this year.
1.
Health care legislation gets a makeover
Without a doubt, the signing of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
into law by President Obama on March 23 tops the list. Although the lengthy document was, to say the least, received with
mixed reactions it's sure to shape the national health care delivery system for years to come. Almost immediately, political opposition to the act shifted to a
legal battleground - a slew of lawsuits against the act were filed across the country.
2. A growing focus on radiation unites the industry
Overdose accidents in medical imaging and radiation therapy were thrust in the public spotlight this year, fueled by an extensive series on medical radiation safety by The New York Times. Rising concerns about the safety of linear accelerators quickly sparked collaboration within the radiotherapy community.
With persistent headlines and the public growing wary, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration stepped in with advice for enhancing the safety of CT scanners and manufacturers vowed to enhance the modality's safety features. CT stakeholders held a meeting at the annual Radiological Society of North America meeting in November, where vendors showcased the latest radiation dose reduction technologies and medical imaging professionals took the Image Wisely pledge.
"There's a real sense of 'we're all in this boat together and rowing in the same direction,'" Ken Denison, global CT dose leader for GE Healthcare, told DOTmed News in December. "The focus on patient safety has come to the forefront where it's always been. But frankly, now it comes to the forefront in an industry-wide manner, as opposed to an individual stakeholder manner."
