Business Intelligence

Providers utilize business intelligence to monitor referral patterns and collaborate with clinicians who order their services. Such analytics tools have also been deployed in the specialty to improve productivity, track patient satisfaction and bolster quality.

The Economic Advantages of Thin-client Technology

Clear clinical benefits have resulted from the widespread adoption of multidetector CT (MDCT) technology, as well as from the use of advanced, contrast-enhanced, and functional MRI applications. The resulting increase in data-handling needs, however, has been less welcome at facilities that are not equipped to deal with it. For example, a standard

Reform's Caveat Emptor

Sponsored by FUJIFILM Healthcare Americas

In 2009, we find ourselves in more than just another new year. A new presidential administration is about to take office, bringing with it a clean sweep of the various government bureau heads and cabinet secretaries who have been in charge of the levers of power for these past eight years. Along with the freshness, optimism, and hope that a new

Heroes in Proving the Value of Imaging: Part 1

Heroes in Proving the Value of Imaging is an occasional series about advocates for the profession who are working to enhance radiology through research, governmental affairs, humanitarian efforts, and more. In Part 1, ImagingBiz speaks with academic leader Bruce Hillman, MD.

Due Diligence in Vendor Selection: Laying the Groundwork for a Strong Relationship

The first installment in this series described the process of evaluating your current vendor relationships to determine which of your concerns are not being met. In this article, we're assuming that either you're in the first phase of vendor consideration or you've made the decision to consider alternate vendors, and will be going through the

Adding a CCTA Program: Economic Benefits of Outsourcing

Adding a coronary CT angiography (CCTA) program to your emergency department can help save hundreds of thousands of dollars a year by reducing unnecessary admissions and mitigating the medicolegal expenses resulting from misdiagnoses. The upfront equipment costs are daunting, however, as are ongoing expenses in the form of both technologist

Advisory Opinion Muddies the Waters on Preauthorization

Sponsored by Hitachi Healthcare Americas

After reviewing a proposed arrangement pursuant to which a company would handle the processing and submission of insurance preauthorizations for various imaging services for the benefit of multiple imaging centers, the HHS OIG concluded that it would not penalize the arrangement, even though it did not qualify under any safe harbor of the federal

Using Adjustment Coding to Manage Practice Compliance

The October 2008 ImagingBiz.com article Keep Payors Honest With the Practice Receivable System concentrated on advanced techniques for monitoring the insurance companies that compensate radiologists for their clinical services. This article will move the telescope a little farther away to illustrate quick ways to check how the revenue system is

The Outpatient Imaging Forecast Is Mixed, but Growth Is Ensured

In November 13, 2008, GE Healthcare, Waukesha, Wis, hosted a webinar entitled Interpreting the Future of Medical Imaging. Offering insights into the future of the field were Bob Maier, president and CEO, and Brian Baker, senior vice president, Regents Health Resources, Brentwood, Tenn.

Around the web

The patient, who was being cared for in the ICU, was not accompanied or monitored by nursing staff during his exam, despite being sedated.

The nuclear imaging isotope shortage of molybdenum-99 may be over now that the sidelined reactor is restarting. ASNC's president says PET and new SPECT technologies helped cardiac imaging labs better weather the storm.

CMS has more than doubled the CCTA payment rate from $175 to $357.13. The move, expected to have a significant impact on the utilization of cardiac CT, received immediate praise from imaging specialists.