David Fuhriman, MBA

In this series, 10 Questions, we ask the same questions to a diverse group of professionals who work in medical imaging. Taking a cue from Twitter, we’ve limited each respondent’s answers to 140 characters.

1. Please state your name, title and the organization you work for.

Tessa Cook, cardiovascular imaging fellow, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania

Great mentors, hard work, luck, being in the right place at the right time and being willing to try new things.

It's service-oriented, visual, innovative and never boring.

Some combination of clinical work, research, teaching, meetings - They are never "average" weeks!

5. Where do you think radiology is going?

New modalities, integrated practice, restoration of the role of the radiologist as consultant.

6. What one thing would make your job better?

Let's stop talking about how the sky is falling and start focusing on all the amazing resources we've got to fix the problem!

7. What is your favorite thing about radiology?

Just one? It's collaborative. There's always something new and exciting. The potential for innovation is immense.

8. What is your least favorite thing about radiology?

We are the easy scapegoat. Sometimes we focus too much on that and spend time complaining when we could be innovating.

9. What book would you recommend to other professionals in radiology?

One that a colleague recommends. See the world through another's eyes - learn something about them, foster congeniality and collaboration.

10. If you could give the radiology industry one piece of advice, what would it be?

Keep calm and carry on, but don't be afraid of disruptive change. It's an opportunity, not a threat.

. If you would like to be considered for the series, please contact him at 

10 Questions with Eliot Siegel, MD, FACR, FSIIM

10 Questions with Richard Duszak, MD, FACR

10 Questions with Lawrence R. Muroff, MD, FACR

10 Questions with Paul H. Ellenbogen, MD, FACR

10 Questions with Geraldine McGinty, MD, MBA

Articles

10 Questions with Tessa Cook, MD, PhD

Here, we profiled Richard Duszak, MD, FACR.

It's not in my DNA to say “no” to interesting opportunities, and medical imaging abounds with great opportunities!

Radiology's technologic and scientific growth has made it so exciting as both a clinician and health services researcher.

My two half-time jobs (HPI and practice) are both really full-time jobs, so 80+ hours over 7 days is the norm.

Medical imaging will continue to have a huge impact on patient care. What's still unclear is who will be calling the shots.

 as the model of practice, demonstrating our value would be much easier.

It's at the leading edge of both clinical care and payment reform - the two places where I spend most of my time.

Everyone thinks that imaging is a problem, rather than a solution and opportunity - including many folks who don't know much about imaging!

Anything about disruption or leadership. Both get to the core of radiology's and radiologists' role in evolving healthcare delivery systems.

A radiologist's value lies not in a report, but in meaningful and actionable information that improves patient care. They're very different.

For the 10 Questions series, we spoke with Richard Duszak, MD, FACR, about his job and the future of radiology.

Here, we profiled Safwan Halabi, MD, a radiologist with Henry Ford Health System in Detroit.

Safwan Halabi, MD, Director of Imaging Informatics, Henry Ford Hospital

I experienced the transition to PACS and speech recognition systems and wanted to be on the front lines of the health IT revolution.

Medical imaging plays a vital role in every aspect of medical practice. The advancements in radiology were extremely appealing.

50 hours/week clinical work at hospital. 10-20 hours of clinical teleradiology from home. 5-10 hours/week administrative and IT meetings.

Radiology is redefining its role in medicine by branching out to directly communicate to the patient/health consumer.

Better communication (person-to-person) with referring providers and patients

The culture to improve safety and quality through innovation

Overutilization of medical imaging by way of financial incentives (self-referral) and defensive medical practices

Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard

"First, do no harm." It may be better not to do something, or even to do nothing, than to risk causing more harm than good.

If you would like to be considered for the series, please contact David Fuhriman at 

For the 10 Questions series, we spoke with Safwan Halabi, MD, about his job and the future of radiology.

10 Questions with Safwan Halabi, MD

This is the third part in a series analyzing the results of a survey conducted on Diagnostic Imaging regarding use of business analytics in radiology. 

 Click on each chart to explore the interactive data.

What prevents you from improving your business analytics? Please rank in importance.

1. I don’t want to pay high software and implementation costs -2.396
2. I expect my current vendors to provide better reporting; and I want it for free - 2.458
3. I do not have the internal resources to implement and manage business analytics -2.750
4. I expect my current vendors to provide better reporting, but I am willing to pay extra - 2.771
5. I don’t think business analytics can help me in my business - 4.583

The first place to start on this question is the worst performing answer (orange): I don’t think business analytics can help me in my business. It earned an average ranking of 4.583. It was ranked number five 77percent of the time. The response is clear that a vast majority of respondents feel that business analytics can help them in their business.

The rest of the answers divide up the reasons behind not making an investment in analytics. At the core are two things that prevent improving business analytics: return on investment and distribution channel. To compare the remaining answers in the chart below, I removed the last place answer to see how the others compare.

Let’s address first the question of distribution channel. There is a sense in radiology and perhaps health care in general that lack of business analytics is a failure of the existing vendors.

Can existing software and service vendors provide better reporting? Yes, they can, and should. Does this mean that they should provide business analytics? The answer is it depends - but I have my doubts. Business analytics can answer questions like why are things happening, if the trends continue what will happen next (that is, predict), and what is the best that can happen (that is, optimize). This goes beyond just improving reports out of existing systems.

The second highest rating and almost tied for first place is (purple): I expect my current vendors to provide better reporting; and I want it for free. In fourth place (red): I expect my current vendors to provide better reporting, but I am willing to pay extra. It should come as no surprise that free ranks higher than paying extra.

Buying through an existing vendor has a lot of benefits. Sales costs are lower, which can reduce the costs significantly. There is already a relationship, which can increase odds of success. Data structure and content is already known and understood, which will lead to the lower implementation costs. Not to mention you won’t have another vendor relationship to manage.

Buying business analytics through an existing vendor doesn’t come without its own risks, because it isn’t their main business line. It could be like getting a haircut from a pet groomer. They may have all the equipment and they know how to cut hair, but don’t be surprised when you come out looking like a poodle.

This brings us to the next issue, which is return on investment. This ROI risk is why the No. 1 reason for not improving analytics is (green): not wanting to pay high software and implementation costs. Implicit in the reasons preventing respondents from improving business analytics is the risk that the costs exceed the benefit. Fantastic if the insights improve profits $200,000 a year. Not worth it if the costs to gain that insight are $225,000 a year. Value equals quality plus cost. We recognize that business analytics can help - but quality can only be measured after the costs are paid, so value isn’t clear in the beginning.

Another ROI risk is in third place (blue): I do not have the internal resources to implement and manage business analytics. The interesting result from this answer is how flatly it was ranked. It is an underlying concern for everyone. The respondents understand consistently the technical and business specialty needed to provide true insight to make sure that there is a good return on the expenditure.

The results of this survey indicate that there is a great opportunity to take advantage of business analytics in radiology. There is a need for better reporting from clinical and financial systems. Many people believe that they can use their data to improve their operations. Even though there are risks and concerns, the future looks very bright.

What prevents radiology groups from improving business analytics? The final part of our survey analysis explores the barriers.

David Fuhriman, MBA

Articles

10 Questions with Tessa Cook, MD, PhD

10 Questions with Richard Duszak, MD, FACR

10 Questions with Safwan Halabi, MD

Barriers to Improving Business Analytics in Radiology