Imaging information is becoming increasingly mobile: For evidence, look no further than the FDA’s recent approval of an app for the iPod, iPhone, and iPad that allows diagnostic use of MRI, CT, PET, and SPECT exams. With increased connectivity, however, comes an increase in vulnerability. Under pressure to protect all patient health information or

Radiologists have become PACS experts, sometimes by default. Because diagnostic images made the greatest demands on early information systems in health care, the most sophisticated systems were first developed to handle these images and associated data. These systems became PACS, which grew out of the homegrown image-management systems of academic

When Spectrum Medical Group, Portland, Maine, was formed in 1996—living up to its name by bringing together radiologists, pathologists, anesthesiologists, and radiation oncologists—the multispecialty group was already preparing for the difficult market conditions on the horizon: increases in managed care and capitated physician payments. David

As in any industry, the end result of imaging is a product, and Tariq Gill, MD, says that honing the quality of this product will be critical to radiology’s future. Gill is a radiologist and quality-assurance officer for Millennium Medical Imaging in Troy, New York. “In radiology, we don’t think of our activity as a product,” he observes. “We lack

What will the radiology group look like in five years, and how can today’s groups position themselves not only to survive, but to thrive? These are the key questions on the imaging industry’s mind as reimbursement rates continue to decline, regulatory changes create enhanced oversight, and the pressure to capture business mounts.

With the definition of meaningful use coming into greater focus, radiologists have seen their initial disappointment at not being invited to the party evolve into the realization that they must demonstrate meaningful use of health IT or risk penalties in 2015.

The revelation that 85% of radiologists are considered nonhospital-based physicians—and are considered, therefore, to be eligible for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) stimulus funds—has sparked something of a gold-rush mentality in the imaging industry. Medicare-participating radiologists who are not hospital based (providing at least

To hear four radiologists who have immersed themselves in the minutiae of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act describe it, meaningful use—as it relates to radiologists—is an opportunity, a minefield, and a responsibility that could cost more than the $44,000 per radiologist that can be gained by