Nathan Kaufman resigned his position as president of the center operating group of San Diego-based Medical Imaging Centers of America (MICA) last month to form his own health-care consulting firm.
The Kaufman Group, also of San Diego, will target clients among outpatient imaging centers, medical equipment manufacturers and hospital groups, he said.
Kaufman, who is president of the new firm, spent five years at MICA. During his tenure there, revenues rose from $8 million to $40 million. The group pulled out of a multimillion-dollar loss to earn about $3 million in annual profits. Prior to joining MICA, Kaufman worked for two major hospital chains, National Medical Enterprises and Hospital Corporation of America.
Competition in the freestanding medical imaging center business has intensified over the past five years, Kaufman told SCAN. The number of installed magnetic resonance imaging systems has grown dramatically, while MRI exam prices are being forced down by Medicare and private, managed-care payers.
Despite these trends, centers that are structured correctly and marketed well can make a profit, even in the highly competitive California market, Kaufman said.
"There is an opportunity for new centers, but the market has become a lot less forgiving," he said. "As new MRI units continue to be installed, it is difficult to recover if you make a mistake. When you were one of two or three competitors in the market, there was an opportunity to reestablish yourself."
Potentially fatal imaging center mistakes include poor equipment choices, lack of a customer/marketing orientation and failure to take advantage of insurance/managed-care contracts.
Preferred provider programs and other managed-care plans are revolutionizing the way imaging centers do business. As exam prices are forced down, patient throughput becomes the prime determinant of center profitability, he said.
"I see centers that have less than 15% of their business from retail, traditional indemnity (sources). Local (insurance) payers are now key customers of imaging centers and other health-care providers. They must be marketed to and serviced as such," Kaufman said.
MICA will not fill Kaufman's center group president position. The imaging services company is in the midst of developing a strategic organizational plan to deal with rapid revenue growth, according to chairman and CEO Antone J. Lazos.
MICA intends to improve coordination between its center and fee-for-service businesses. This may involve setting up new positions that cross over the two groups, he said.
"He (Kaufman) left an excellent legacy, but I don't intend to replace him," Lazos said.
BRIEFLY NOTED:
Prior to joining EDAP in 1987, Reeders was director of international operations for Acuson, the high-end radiology ultrasound vendor.
