Medicare Reimbursement Confidence Among Radiology Managers Low, Still

Reimbursement, again, is a significant concern for imaging directors and managers, who attested to having very low confidence that they will receive adequate reimbursement from Medicare for diagnostic and interventional imaging.

The latest Medical Imaging Confidence Index (MICI) data showed that medical imaging managers are less discouraged about reimbursement than they were earlier this year, when the confidence score was 58. The confidence score for the outlook of the third quarter of 2014 was 62. The index evaluated the outlooks of 140 hospital imaging directors and managers.

Managers don’t have a completely bleak outlook, though. They are very confident that internal operating and staff costs will remain constant and confident that their departments will maintain or grow as a profit center. The consensus on monthly growth in diagnostic and interventional radiology is neutral, similar to earlier this year. But managers are still concerned about having access to capital for imaging equipment and IT needs.

Here are the full results for the third quarter of 2014:

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.

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