RadNet Inc (RDNT)

[bpvitale]

NYTimes - "CT Scans Cut Lung Cancer Deaths"

Finally some positive press...!!

According to a recent government-financed NIH study, its been determined that annual CT scans of current and former heavy smokers reduced their risk of death from lung cancer by 20% and that these cancer doctors predict that the study's results would soon "lead to widespread use of CT scans" for current smokers who have a 1 in 10 chance of contracting lung cancer.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/05/health/research/05cancer.html

The article goes on to say that the federal Medicare program "will soon reconsider paying for these CT lung screens" instead of the patients having to pay for the scans themselves, and that these CT scans also "helped to detect other life-threatening diseases besides lung cancer."

And according to the American Heart Association, there are currently an estimated 24.8 million men and 21.1 million women in the United States who are smokers (that's unbelievable, and very sad), and we know that lung cancer claims about 157,000 lives each year (just terrible).

I believe these recent findings will benefit RDNT in a meaningful way, and could create significant revenue opportunities going forward.

As we know, RDNT is one of the largest multi-modality imaging companies in the country with one of the largest fleets of imaging equipment, including CT scans. Should the federal government begin to pay for annual CT scans for these current and former smokers, RDNT could not be better positioned to capitalize on these new recent developments IMHO.

As the study suggests, at least for lung cancer, "spending more on tests saves lives."

What a great opportunity for RDNT and its shareholders.