Facility Management

Radiologists must get used to the idea of competing with nontraditional companies such as teleradiology provider Radisphere if they hope to survive, according to a radiology practice expert. In particular they must provide subspecialty coverage, otherwise it’s all too easy to replace them.

Assuming our hypothetical radiology practice reached consensus regarding a baseline compensation package, what would be the financial implications to physicians in the group? We begin with a practice profile.

A physician, who at the time was the principal doctor of a major medical clinic, once approached me about radiation dose issues and asked me to compare a chest x-ray to a chest and abdomen CT scan. I was prepared, having dealt with similar concerns expressed by other medical practitioners, and explained briefly how it can vary greatly and how the potential health hazards are weighed against the benefits. It was not the first time I had an inquiry about dose-saving techniques from the medical community or from patients. I started realizing how more and more the general public is being affected by media coverage and how the medical community should be able to react.

A new initiative by the American College of Radiology addresses growing tensions between hospitals and their contracted radiology groups, some of which have caused the relationship to end in a bitter breakup.

The first article in this series discussed why productivity-based compensation is controversial based on the various production levels in the group: the racehorses, plowhorses, and plodders. Once productivity-based compensation has passed the conceptual stage, the real work begins. And this phase, due to its potential complexity and the reality of potential salary adjustments, often represents the point at which the wheels fall off.

How would you feel if legislators in your state approved a law requiring a specific statement in certain types of radiology reports?

From Mike Graham, healthcare territory manager for Anthro, a vendor of digital workstation furniture:

A recent study from Massachusetts General Hospital finding that radiologists suffer from poor ergonomics in the reading room put a spotlight on a relatively common problem in radiology.

In response to a dramatic increase in the volume and cost of diagnostic imaging and other ancillary services furnished to Medicare patients in referring physicians’ offices, the Medicare Patient Advisory Commission is considering ways to rein in both.

A dramatic shift in R&D toward patient safety has taken place in the CT industry, a shift most clearly seen in efforts to reduce patient radiation dose. Iterative reconstruction algorithms are a prominent fixture at the ISCT meeting this year, as they and their future development are increasingly seen as providing the means to cut dose, while maintaining or even boosting image quality.

Fears that revenues last year from the sale of new CTs in the U.S. would slide to levels not seen in a long time proved to be well founded, as the industry suffered its worst year in more than a decade.

Much is known about dose reduction and adult patients, but what about kids? The literature is scant, but that doesn’t mean solutions don’t exist, according to a presenter at the International Society for Computed Tomography conference May 21.

Virtual Radiologic, one of the nation’s two publicly traded teleradiology companies, has agreed to be acquired by Providence Equity Partners, a private equity firm, for $17.25 per share in cash, the companies announced Tuesday.

A dramatic shift in R&D toward patient safety has taken place in the CT industry, a shift most clearly seen in efforts to reduce patient radiation dose. Iterative reconstruction algorithms are a prominent fixture at the ISCT meeting this year, as they and their future development are increasingly seen as providing the means to cut dose, while maintaining or even boosting image quality.

Fears that revenues last year from the sale of new CTs in the U.S. would slide to levels not seen in a long time proved to be well founded, as the industry suffered its worst year in more than a decade.

At best, productivity-based compensation is a hot topic; at worst, it is potentially the downfall of those promoting it-if not threatening to the very survival of a group. Are there groups compensating on a productivity-based model? Yes, but very few.

The landscape for hospital-based radiologists has shifted dramatically in the last couple of years. They’ll need to update their thinking if they hope to preserve their hospital contracts, and perhaps, a significant role in medicine, a pair of presenters said Sunday at the American Roentgen Ray Society meeting in San Diego.

RadNet acquired three more multimodality facilities on Tuesday, concluding the company’s second acquisition in as many months. The new purchase, Sonix Medical Resources, came from a bankruptcy proceeding in New York.

For the first time in a year and a half, orders for Philips medical imaging equipment edged up in North America. It is the first tangible glimmer of hope that the great imaging recession may finally be over.

The idea of MR spectroscopy has been kicking around almost as long as MR itself. The allure is seductive: a noninvasive biopsy that quantifies in hard numbers the presence-or absence-of cancer.

Recently, there has been some debate in the radiology literature about the demise of general radiology, and with it people like me: general radiologists.

Mobile devices such as the iPhone and newly released iPad are attracting a lot of attention for how they might display medical images.

The means to reduce radiation dose are often at the fingertips of CT operators.

Reduced or no “padding” during ECG-triggered coronary CT angiography results in a substantial reduction in radiation dose without affecting image quality and interpretability, according to a study in the April American Journal of Roentgenology.

The use -- and cost -- of modern imaging was rising among Medicare patients with cancer as they entered the 21st century, according to research released April 27 by the Journal of the American Medical Association. From 1999 through 2006, imaging costs rose at a faster rate among Medicare beneficiaries than any other cost associated with their fight against cancer.

At the request of the American College of Radiology, House Energy and Commerce chair Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), Ways & Means Committee chair Rep. Sandy Levin (D-MI), and Ways & Means Subcommittee on Health chair Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) have called on the General Accountability Office to perform a study regarding the effects of physician self-referral of advanced medical imaging and radiation therapy treatments on Medicare spending.

Support from hospital medical staff and bylaws that give the staff a stronger role in scrutinizing staffing decisions could help protect radiology practices against hospital management dropping their contracts, the administrator of one of the largest practices in the country contends.

Burdensome bureaucracy is penalizing many law-abiding radiologists in India, 16 years on from implementation of the Pre-Conception (PC) and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PNDT) Act.

Korean researchers tested the ability of radiologists to spot CT images altered with commercially available software to introduce pathology and found that their skill is no more certain than the toss of a coin.

Radiologists express their diagnostic findings in words, their exam reports typically containing not a single image. They would be better served politically, and their referring physicians and patients clinically, if they shared their images as well as their conclusions.