Imaging Managers’ Confidence in Reimbursement “Very Low”

The economic outlook among medical imaging managers is still pretty bleak. Looking into the first quarter of this year, managers still have little confidence in Medicare reimbursement rates and capital for equipment and IT needs, according to the latest data from the Medical Imaging Confidence Index.

Manager’s expectations have changed little in the two years since the launch of this index, co-developed by The MarkeTech Group LLC and AHRA: The Association for Medical Imaging Management. Managers have continued to report low confidence that they will receive adequate reimbursement from Medicare. In the latest results for the first quarter of 2013, that confidence came in as “very low,” dipping to a score of 66 from 73 the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, managers came in as “neutral” that the department will grow monthly in diagnostic and interventional radiology and that they will have access to capital for imaging equipment and IT needs. This interpretation is holding steady from the previous quarter.

Yet, managers showed “high confidence” once again that their departments will maintain or grow as a profit center.

The MICI reveals results of an online survey of 163 managers of radiology departments to assess their confidence in market conditions.

Here are the full results for the first quarter:

 What do you think?

Medical Imaging Confidence Index (MICI) was co-developed by AHRA:The Association for Medical Imaging Management and The MarkeTech Group, owner of the imagePRO panel, launched in 2008. MICI data rely on the feedback of a statistical cohort of respondents from the imagePRO panel that accurately represent the US market hospital market by bedsize and geographic areas.

For more on the MICI, check out the FAQ here.