Terry,
 I'm in RI also, and no one here--including the Miriam or RI Hospital
has a 3-D scanner. The machine was impressive.
 Dentists use digital radiographs that aren't CT's-and they can
manipulate those images.
 This year medicare has lowered reimbursement for CT's and increased
reimbursement for visits, so the CT scanner is hard to afford unless
you do lots of scans and can get reimbursed. Too bad, because the
images were clearly superior to what we have now.
 They have the 3-D scanners at Mass Eye and Ear, and Lahey.
Judy

I asked my local ENT about the scanner, aside from not
having enough demand for getting one, he also mentioned
that he would be limited in how much he could charge for
it use due to a combination of state and insurance regulations
that encourge images to be examined by a radiologist.

On 1/28/07 2:42 PM, in article
1170024159.690843.251830@a75g2000cwd.googlegroups.com, "judy.n"

I think the CT digital scanner is fabulous. My dentist has it and the
savings in time and the ease of showing the patient his pathology instantly
is an advantage.
Having the CT scanner for sinuses in the office - digital - not only saves
the patients an extra two visits but also allows for much better Rx at the
initial visit.

I think the generic price is still high--it didn't come up in the
ePocrates database, but for patients with insurance, the copay will be
dramatically lower for the generic version vs. all the brand names.

I thought of you yesterday: I went with my husband to the Yankee
Dental conference in Boston, and a rep tried to sell him a 3-D CT
scanner for the office. He showed us the fine cuts and the the ability
to manipulate the image. Now, it's not cost-effective for a dentist
with a small office, and the entire state of RI doesn't have a 3-D CT
scanner--even in the university affiliated hospitals, but watching the
images, I could see how you would get great results using it on your
patients vs. a traditional sinus CT.

I personally had to go to Mass Eye and Ear to get a 3-D sinus CT, and
they charged my insurance many thousands of dollars for it, this was
back in 2000.

Personally, badk to nasal steroids, I prescribe the generic flonase a
lot due to the low copay--even though I personally use the rhinocort.
When I used flonase, I thought it was more effective than the
rhinocort, but my physician wanted to avoid the bz.
Judy

On 1/28/07 7:27 AM, in article
1169998070.808300.10310@q2g2000cwa.googlegroups.com, "judy.n"

Where is best place to purchase generic Flonase. I haven't seen a big price
difference in California.

Both have preservatives and alcohol in them: brand name flonase had
"masking perfume": nasonex is now scent free. Hypothetically nasonex
is less bioavailable as a steroid. I used to use flonase, and liked
it, but my allergist prefers rhinocort AQ because it has no
benzylchonium chloride/scent/alcohol.
The generic option is really nice for co-pays.
Judy

I've used them both and find them equally effective. Flonase is out in a
generic form now so if cost/insurance is an issue...

CS

Any opinions??

Mel