Radiology Managers: High Hopes, Low Expectations

Radiology managers high have hopes for the growth of their department, but still don't expect adequate reimbursement from Medicare, according to the 1st Quarter 2016 Outlook, Medical Imaging Confidence Index (MICI).

The quarterly MICI report surveys imaging directors/managers on their confidence levels regarding departmental growth, reimbursement, internal operating costs, access to capital, and growth as a profit center. In the first quarter of 2016, 169 imaging directors/managers responded to the survey and scored their overall outlook as “neutral."

The first quarter survey mirrors outlooks from 2015: very high confidence that internal operating and staff costs will remain constant; high confidence that imaging departments will grow monthly in diagnostic and interventional radiology and will maintain or grow as a profit center; neutral confidence that they will have access to capital for imaging equipment and IT needs; and low confidence that they will receive adequate reimbursement from Medicare for diagnostic and interventional imaging.

The overall score, 108, is lower than the overall score in the last quarter of 2015, which was 110. The overall score in the third quarter was 109; second quarter was 107; and the first quarter of 2015 was 106.

Here are the full results for the first quarter of 2016:

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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