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.
Consulting and Marketing Services
We provide strategic business and marketing expertise to assist in the growth of your medical imaging enterprise.
Our clients include radiology practices, imaging centers, and hospitals in large and small markets across the country.
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
Scenario Planning for Health-care Organizations
If you’re not scenario planning, you’re not planning. This bold assertion, issued in a recent white paper by GE Healthcare, is the driving philosophy behind the company’s $6 billion healthymagination initiative, and is an approach that it hopes to spread among health-care organizations.
Strategic Radiology: 15 Practices Align for Strength
A new, radiologist-owned corporation is taking tentative, careful steps toward a national practice
Radiology’s Next Move
Imagine the situation facing radiology practices and their changing market relationships as multiple, concurrent chess matches.
Restructuring: The Way JVs Get Done
After Congress passed the DRA, reducing Medicare reimbursements for imaging services, the radiology landscape has never been the same.
Informatics: Linchpin of Personalized Medicine
In urging radiologists to adopt a new focus on quality improvement, RSNA outgoing president Gary Becker, MD, outlines the steps necessary to achieve this goal and calls informatics integral to the process.
Evaluating Radiology’s New Revenue Streams
In January 2008, the ACR® appointed a task force to research and report on the efficacy of the increasing number of value-added services in radiology.
Scanning Imaging’s Deals
Among the more interesting dramas unfolding in the medical imaging profession these days are the number and variety of transactions that are either in the pipeline, in the process of due diligence, or otherwise in some organization’s strategic plan for 2010.
Of Competitors and Superheroes
An eerie presence had descended on Gotham, and ordinary imaging providers in and around New York were worried.
Strategy Before Structure, Blue Ocean Style
Business strategy has been proceeding backward for three decades or more, according to the authors of Blue Ocean Strategy.¹
Raising the Voices of Radiology
Radiology has a very human story to tell, and its grassroots coalition in New York is engaging the support of elected officials to avert a second round of crippling imaging cuts
OIC Deployment: Buy, Build, Sell, or Hold?
Tight credit markets may have lengthened timelines, but hospital systems across the United States continue to move aggressively into their communities to fulfill outpatient imaging strategies.
The Digital Dilemma: More than a Can of Paint
A disturbing trend is clearly visible in the marketplace: too many new imaging facilities are out-of-date by the time they are initially operational.
The Practice CIO: Driving Business Innovation
CIOs are playing a key role in moving the clinical and business operations of the radiology practice into the 21st century
Ten Steps to ARRA
Charles Christian, CIO, Good Samaritan Hospital, Vincennes, Ind, identifies the following steps that organizations should take to position themselves to receive their share of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds earmarked for health care IT.
Reinventing the Radiology Practice
Radiology practices must be nimble enough to reinvent themselves if they are to thrive, according to Fred Gaschen, MBA, CHE. Gaschen, executive vice president of Radiological Associates of Sacramento, Calif, presented “Reinventing Your Radiology Practice” on October 24, 2008.
Commoditization of Imaging: What Can Radiologists Do Now?
As telecommunications technology advances, rocking the age-old paradigm of the radiologist tethered to a lightbox, radiologists have freedom as never before.
Radiology in an Economic Downturn Strategies for Success
In the near term, radiology practices must turn their attention to managing expenses instead of growth.
Understanding—and Adapting to—Managed Care Strategies
It is highly probable that many practices will see their current payor mix change to one in which 80% or more of net patient revenues will be based on negotiated payments,” according to Christopher J. Kalkhof, FACHE, director and national managed care lead, Provider Revenue Cycle Practice, Deloitte Consulting, New York City.
Buy, Sell, or Hold: Selling Your Diagnostic Imaging Business
I was recently speaking with a client of mine who had spent about eight years growing his diagnostic imaging company.
A Formula for Budget-based Marketing
Not long ago, I sent a memo to a select group of clients informing them that as of January 9, 2009, pharmaceutical representatives would no longer be distributing the so-called dry goods.
Consumer-driven Health Care: Dealing With the Impact on the Physician Revenue Cycle
The health care industry will be facing significant changes in the future, and a medical practice’s success is becoming increasingly linked to its revenue cycle.
Contrarians at Heart: Riding the Bull Market in Imaging
Acquisitive firms have long been earmarked for challenges based on academic research predicting high failure rates for such companies.
The Logistics of PACS for the Practice
Now that radiology practices have discovered the benefits of PACS, they are investing in the IT support to leverage the technology for its maximum potential
Two Venerable Organizations Explore a Shared Future
With a dramatically increased need for professional education made necessary by maintenance of certificate requirements, the ACR and the ARRS are in talks to collaborate—and possibly merge
Using Metrics and Dashboards to Forecast Business
Dashboard design is not a one-size-fits-all proposition, but a strategic tool to assemble and display data relevant to an organization’s key performance indicators
The Elements of a Feasibility Study
The number of freestanding diagnostic imaging centers opening in the United States has slowed considerably as markets have become increasingly saturated and reimbursement has declined.
Prognostications on the Future of the Business of Radiology
The aftershocks of the reimbursement decreases from the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 are beginning to be seen.
The Coming Crisis in Radiologist - Hospital Relationships
This is the time of year when visions of sugarplums are fresh in our heads from the RSNA, and we like to reminisce about days gone by when radiologists and hospitals were friends and worked together in harmony for the good of the patient and the well being of the radiologist.
Strategic Imaging Center Technology Deployment
In the technology-driven field of radiology, it is not just what is installed, but when, where, and why the technology is deployed, according to three experts interviewed by ImagingBiz.com.
Sg2: Business Execution Key to Post-DRA Survival
After enlightening attendees about the new players in the outpatient imaging field, and educating them on where the growth potential exists, Michael Silver, PhD.
Consumer Driven Health Care: Challenges for Imaging Leaders
Health care has become a serious problem.
The Organization: Assess Management of Your Outpatient Center
In these Days of the DRA, imaging centers are keen to be lean.
Why What You Do Matters
Newt Gingrich understands the true issue facing imaging today.
Inland Imaging’s 4-Part Strategic IT Deployment
In my 25 years of information technology (IT) management in four completely different industries (distribution, agricultural biotechnology, process manufacturing, and now health care).
Business Guru Weighs in on Radiology Leadership Issues
In an extensive interview to be featured in the April issue of Imaging Economics, Jim Collins, researcher, business guru, and author of the best-selling Good to Great.
Doshi Diagnostics Q & A: Strategy and the DRA
As the Deficit Reduction Act worked its way first through the machinery of the legislative process and then, later, through the millwork of implementation, imaging center operators around the country hoped they somehow might be able to scupper the part of the law affecting them before the DRA could take effect on Jan. 1.
Strategic Planning for Imaging Centers: Act with Plan in Hand
Imaging center success hinges on many factors, but without the volume to sustain the operation and power it toward profitability, failure is a given.
