Radiology Managers Feel Better About Reimbursement

February 4, 2015

Radiology managers are a little bit more confident that they will receive adequate reimbursement from Medicare.

Imaging managers and directors are starting 2015 with a bit more confidence in their daily operations, according to the latest Medical Imaging Confidence Index (MICI).

One-hundred seventy-five imaging directors/managers were surveyd in the MICI evaluation for the first quarter of 2015. In a surprising turn, the consistently rated "very low confidence" that facillities will receive adequate reimbursement from Medicare for diagnostic and interventional imaging has declined. For Q1 2015, managers rated receiving adequate reimbursement with "low confidence." The "very low confidence" score from Q4 2014 was 64; the current confidence level is 71.

Managers also feel better that their facilities will "grow monthly in diagnostic and interventional radiology", with this quarter scoring a 112 or "high confidence", in Q4 2014, managers felt "neutral" about growth. Confidence has also grown in whether managers expect to have access to capital for imaging equipment and IT needs, with an increase from the Q4 2014 "low confidence score" to the current "neutral" score. Consistent with last quarter, managers are confident that their facilities will maintain/grow as a profit center.

Here are the full results for the first quarter of 2015:

Topic	Score Mean	Interpretation
Will grow monthly in diagnostic and interventional radiology	112	High confidence
Receive adequate reimbursement from Medicare for diagnostic and interventional imaging	71	Low confidence
Internal operating and staff costs will remain constant	132	Very high confidence
Will have access to capital for imaging equipment and IT needs	96	Neutral
Will maintain/grow as a profit center	124	High confidence
Composite score across all areas	106	Neutral

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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