New report okays AFT transfer

A new report from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) Fat Graft Task Force gives U.S. plastic surgeons a green light to use autologous fat transfer (AFT) for the purposes of body augmentation and defect corrections. These procedures have been performed in Europe and Asia for years, as well as in America more recently, but the ASPS announcement takes AFT to an entirely new level of industry acceptance and consumer confidence in the U.S.

The report states: "Fat grafting can be considered a safe method of augmentation and correction of defects associated with various medical conditions." The report opens doors for new procedures, including fat transfer breast augmentation.

Sound Surgical Technologies (Louisville, Colorado) says that these procedures can be performed with its line of surgical tools like the Vaser Lipo System for body contouring and fat removal, and the Shippert Tissu-Trans products for fat harvesting and reinjection. The Vaser Lipo System produces emulsified fat that is uniform, clean, bloodless and less bulky than other techniques. When combined with Shippert Tissu-Trans products, fat is directly suctioned off, separated, and kept sterile, making reinjection more efficient.

ACR, RBMA create guidelines

The American College of Radiology (ACR; Reston, Virginia) and the Radiology Business Management Association (RBMA; Fairfax, Virginia) have developed best practice guidelines for third-party payors, managed care organizations (MCOs), radiology benefit managers (RBMs), and imaging providers for use when implementing or evaluating a Radiology Benefits Management Program (RBMP).

The ACR does not endorse RBMs or their approach to the marketplace, as there are better alternatives, but recognizes their current role in imaging utilization management and seeks to improve the strategies used by these programs regarding burdens created for providers and their patients.

Premier launches search for Cares Award winner

The Premier (San Diego) healthcare alliance has launched its annual search for not-for-profit community organizations providing commendable and innovative efforts to improve the health of the medically underserved.

The Monroe E. Trout Premier Cares Award provides an annual cash prize of $70,000 to the winning organization and $24,000 to each of the five finalists. During the past 17 years, the Cares Award has presented over $3 million in funding to more than 100 not-for-profit organizations nationwide.