The Industrial-strength Imaging Executive
by Curtis Kauffman-Pickelle
Today’s medical-imaging profession is definitely not for the fragile and weak-kneed among our colleagues. It is becoming increasingly clear that navigating the constant changes and challenges that face the practice of radiology today will be the ultimate test of tenacity, perseverance, and creativity. We’re in the playoffs now, and the game is moving to the big-time arena—where the margin for error is nil.
Finger in the Wind
by Cheryl Proval
Physicians are in a real bind as fee-for-service reimbursement falls under attack and alternative payment methods (such as bundling and capitation) gain traction in Washington, DC. As of June 18, Medicare Part B claims were being processed with the 21.3% cut mandated by the sustainable growth rate’s formula, and House Democrats demanded legislation on jobs before they would pass the Senate bill to reverse the cut.
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Save the Date:
July 20, 2010 11am ESTTopic
Keep Your Hospital Relationships Healthy: Strategies for Every Practice
Presenters:
Randy Roat, CHBME, VP of Radiology, MMP, and George Ehrhardt, CPA, Director, Practice Management, MMP
Medical Management Professionals, Inc.
Topic
RIS to the Rescue | Strategies for Driving Revenue, Productivity and Profitability
Sectra
Topic
Advanced Visualization | Next-generation Architectures
Visage Imaging
Fail-safe: Automating Critical-results Notification
The radiology department at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), Boston, Massachusetts, created a policy for communicating critical and discrepant results after the Joint Commission made communications among caregivers a national priority for health-care providers. When the goal was expanded in 2007, the department took the next step and used IT to automate the process and to embed it into radiologist and referring-physician workflow.
Studies Support Error Theory
Much of the evidence said to support the theory that radiology subspecialists make fewer mistakes than their generalist colleagues is anecdotal.
Subspecialty Radiology: Beyond the Debate
While debate continues to swirl around the future of general radiology, the marketplace is clearly moving toward subspecialization and the real-world challenges that it presents.
Effective Quality Assurance: Obstacles and Pointers
As the radiology marketplace matures, becoming increasingly competitive, it’s more important than ever for practices to differentiate themselves based on quality, according to Peter Franklin, MD, chair of radiology for Radisphere National Radiology Group, Cleveland, Ohio.
ACR Unveils Breast MRI Accreditation Program
To enable imaging facilities to improve and maintain the quality of their breast MRI services, the ACR® has launched the Breast Magnetic Resonance Imaging Accreditation Program (BMRAP).
Tracking Patient Radiation Dose: IT Implications
In February, the FDA announced a new initiative to reduce unnecessary radiation exposure from CT, nuclear-medicine, and fluoroscopy exams.
Deadline 2012: MRI Accreditation
Under the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act (MIPPA) of 2008, those sites providing the technical component of advanced imaging must have accreditation by 2012—but not all imaging centers are waiting for the deadline.
An Urgent Case for Quality
Gary Becker, MD, outgoing president of the RSNA, read members the equivalent of the riot act in his presidential address on November 29 in Chicago, Illinois, kicking off the 2009 meeting and jump-starting the quality-improvement movement in radiology.
Engaging Physicians in Hospital Radiology Quality Initiatives
The question of how to engage physicians in hospital quality initiatives “is one that many organizations are grappling with,” according to Albert Bothe, MD, chief quality officer for Geisinger Health System, Danville, Pennsylvania.
The Quest for Quality in Radiology
With Quality Counts as its theme for 2009, the RSNA’s 95th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illinois, obviously emphasized multiple aspects of quality assurance, control, and improvement.
CT Radiation Dose on the Table
Long a point of concern in Europe, radiation dose has emerged as a key point of consideration for pediatric radiologists in the United States, particularly with the development of multidetector CT.
All Eyes on Accreditation
In July 2008, Congress passed the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act (MIPPA)
Quality Control With A Custom Fit
Less than a year ago, the radiology department at the Fletcher Allen Medical Center (FAMC), Burlington, Vermont, the hospital affiliate of the University of Vermont College of Medicine, was struggling with antiquated peer-review and quality-control (QC) methods.
Cracking the Code for Improving Quality
As the entire health care continuum comes under increased scrutiny in terms of both cost and effectiveness, radiologists and administrators alike have fresh cause to contemplate quality in the delivery of imaging services.
MIPPA’s Impact on Imaging
At the 2009 annual meeting of AHRA: The Association for Medical Imaging Management in Las Vegas, Nevada, on August 12.
Radiology’s Role in Limiting Health Care–acquired Infections
In a session at this month’s meeting of AHRA
PQRI: Money on the Table
Medicare made more than $36 million in payments to more than 56,000 physicians who participated in the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative in 2007.
Atlas Scanned
In trying to understand the current shift in economic and political winds, I thought it would be helpful to take a new look at a classic depiction of the US capitalist system, as portrayed in one of American fiction’s great works.
The Push for Productivity
In an era of declining reimbursement for radiology, one practice is testing the limits of IT’s ability to improve productivity
Packaging Versus Bundling: Let the Battle Begin
There are very important differences between packaged services and bundled services. Unfortunately, many people use these terms interchangeably, which may result in incorrect coding practices (and, potentially, in lost revenue for the organization).
NightHawk Offers Model for QA
It’s easy to let quality assurance (QA) slip into a lip-service category, but that is something that a nighttime stat-reading teleradiology service can’t afford to do—particularly if it is an industry leader like NightHawk Radiology Services.
What is Quality Radiology?
The 1999 Institute of Medicine report To Err Is Human¹ brought the extent and severity of medical errors to the attention of policymakers, hospital administrative staff, and health care providers.
Surveying Referrers Provides Valuable Guidance
During a client consultation via conference call last month, I was asked what other radiology practices are doing to deliver reports.
Transforming the PACS Vendor Relationship
Radiologists at Yale University figuratively equate their PACS with a toolbox and themselves with artisans, from whose hands now spring forth remarkably useful pictures.
Eight Ways to Motivate Your Practice Representatives
The proper care (and feeding) of your practice representatives is a process, not an event.
Quality in Radiology: Science or Science Fiction?
In times of turmoil, I have always turned to science fiction. Hard science is, well, too hard for this intellect, and science fiction offers refuge when the world around is, as Wordsworth said, too much with us.
What Radiology Can Do to Improve Its Health
Everywhere one looks, these days, there is uncertainty about the future of radiology.
Creating a Blog That No One Will Read
A couple of years ago, the CEO of a $100-million company was presiding over a conference call with about 16 senior members of several divisions of the company.
Issue Tracking for Image Quality Improvement
Paul Nagy, PhD, is director of quality and informatics research and associate professor of radiology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore.
Improving Gadolinium-based Contrast Safety
It is clear that gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCA) for MRI improve detection (sensitivity), characterization (specificity), disease staging, and diagnostic confidence levels. It has also become clear that nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) is associated with their use in patients with preexisting kidney disease.
The Flat World Imperative
In a world where a radiologist in Bombay can interpret an x-ray from Buffalo, the Mayo Clinic’s Stephen Swensen, MD, maintains that quality is the only way to distinguish a radiology service.
SIIM 2007 Report
The Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine (SIIM, formerly SCAR) met last week in Providence, Rhode Island. Some of the hot topics included the following:
Radiation Dosage Monitoring in CT
Was it just a few years ago that potential to reduce exposure was one of the benefits touted for adoption of multi-slice CT?
Gadolinium and You: Why Imaging Centers Should Be Concerned
The connection between gadolinium and the disease known as nephrogenic fibrosis syndrome (NFS) presents an urgent and immediate reason for imaging centers to amend MR policies, procedures, and protocols.
Dose Awareness Movement Gains Steam
Efforts to raise awareness of radiation dose in medical imaging saw significant activity on three fronts this past month, suggesting that radiology may be mobilizing to raise awareness of the issue.
The Case for Emergency Responder Magnet Safety, Part I
You run a sound MRI operation with employees well trained in magnet safety, but have you ever thought about the scene following a fire alarm being pulled?
