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The medical community pays tribute to a dedicated crew.
Advocacy groups applaud passage of bill that would permanently repeal and replace SGR.
DOTmed discusses the American Society for Therapeutic Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) program for public awareness with ASTRO's assistant director of communications, Beth Bukata.
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The "germ theory" of schizophrenia got a mild boost this week as scientists discover that recently afflicted schizophrenics show higher levels of inflammatory proteins in the brain.

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House Passes Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act Advocacy groups applaud passage of bill that would permanently repeal and replace SGR.

Aural Trumps Oral for Ear Treatment A novel microfluidic drug delivery system makes it possible to reach parts of the body poorly served by oral and injectable medications.

Scientists Find Unusual Immune System Activity in Brains of Schizophrenics The "germ theory" of schizophrenia got a mild boost this week as scientists discover that recently afflicted schizophrenics show higher levels of inflammatory proteins in the brain.

Clinical PET-MRI Moves Closer to Reality Thanks to a European grant for the HyperIMAGE project, a consortium of scientists across Europe have worked with Philips to develop a proof-of-concept, pre-clinical combined MR-PET scanner that could one day lead to improved radiation therapy and cardiology treatments.

Senate Health Care Reform Bill Unveiled Legislation may go to cloture vote this weekend. Read the details.

RSNA 2009 Preview This year's RSNA should provide a very interesting look at the effects of the economy on the major OEMs. As always, vendors are whipping up the hoopla, and inside this story are great previews of what's being debuted. But DOTmed reporters will also be there to get the real buzz. Look for video interviews in our Online News direct from the show.

Interview With Fred Robertson, President & CEO of TomoTherapy TomoTherapy president and CEO Fred Robertson talks with DOTmed about his perspective on ASTRO's 2009 annual meeting, changes in the radiation oncology industry and two important TomoTherapy product launches that occurred at the show. Watch the HD video.

Pen-Sized Microscope Aims for Precise Brain Surgeries A confocal microscope picking up brain-safe fluorescent dyes could result in more accurate and streamlined surgeries to remove tumors from the brain.

Health Care Reform Round-Up: CBO Pegs Senate Bill at $849 Billion The numbers are in on the Senate's version of reform. Also read about the wide-ranging impact that the legislation would have.

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Has Stunning New Guidelines on Mammography Agency recommends no routine screening for women 40-49, no self-examination. Read the details.

MDSI's health care
market intelligence database

Medical Suppliers Go to "The Max" for Health Care Market Intelligence

by Kathy Mahdoubi, Editorial Coordinator
It is a tough sell for medical suppliers and manufacturers looking to gain contracts with health care institutions in today's market. In order to get an edge, many companies are turning to intelligence services that can increase their selling power by helping them tap into an encyclopedia of new purchasing contacts. The Max, or Major Accounts eXchange, is one of a few emerging resources on the web offering superior market intelligence in the heath care industry.

Medical Distribution Solutions, Inc. (MDSI), a publishing and content company out of Atlanta, Ga., first released The Max in 2000. In the nine years since its inception, the online service has swelled into an impressive intelligence database that provides an analysis of 1,200 integrated delivery networks (IDNs) and contact information for decision makers in more than 70,000 IDN facilities, group-purchasing organizations (GPOs), and hospitals.

"The MAX is a subscription-based service used by the nation's leading suppliers, distributors and GPOs," says Tom Middleton, Vice President of sales for MDSI. "The Max is designed to maximize your ability to research and target hospitals, identify top facilities that generate the most volume, and find IDN and GPO affiliation."

For a 12-month license fee, The Max offers detailed profiles of IDN and GPO relationships with more than 110,000 health care facilities and extensive market information about 5,500 hospitals and 320 metropolitan areas. Such insight can help suppliers strengthen existing business and pin down new contracts during tough, budget-cutting times.

"Smart companies need to educate and research their customers to create a solution to their pain," says Middleton. "Suppliers that figure this out will transcend this downturn with a stronger relationship and respect from their customers that will translate to sustainable long-term business."

MDSI is a market share leader in the health care contracting intelligence field and has reigned in hundreds of powerhouse companies like Fujifilm Medical Systems, a major supplier of medical imaging and information products.

The database includes detailed profiles of IDNs that describe organizational structure and strategy. MDSI has set up The Max so that all IDNs are classified by their structure, integration and level of compliance to industry standards and excellence. For instance, networks are ranked from level one to level four to describe the degree of supply chain integration. A level four is the most strategically integrated and highly centralized IDN, using a GPO or direct contracting model.

Hospital system analyses include the volume of radiology cost by department, profit and loss amounts and balance sheet information for all CMS reporting hospitals.

"You can actually go in and start ranking those hospitals based on their radiology costs," Middleton says.

In addition to The MAX's accounts intelligence database, MDSI also offers MAX Online Education, web-based course modules on such topics as how to contract with government health care facilities and connect with regional purchasing coalitions. New modules roll out about every three months.

The economy may be evening out according to some analysts, but budgets will likely continue to be tight for months and maybe even years to come. Market resources like The Max may help vendors, distributors and others target sales to survive in the long run.

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