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.

Think Tank : Is it Time for the Radiology (R) RVU in Medical Imaging Reimbursement?

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have both stated the important goals of maintaining access for Medicare beneficiaries, reducing cost, and improving quality as we move forward into the pay-for-performance future. The payment systems used to fund Medicare’s services should

Street Scan: Hologic Buys Cytyc and a Foot in the OB/GYN Door

With its announcement that it would buy Cytyc, Marlborough, Mass, for $6.2 billion, Hologic Inc, Bedford, Mass, broadens its position in the women’s health care market and buys access to its gatekeeper: the obstetrician/gynecologist. Will the move precipitate a consolidation on the vendor side of diagnostics that would replicate the consolidation

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:

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. Breakeven is the bare minimum any business operation must achieve to keep the doors open, yet some radiology groups and entrepreneurs in the imaging center business blow blithely past that and other

CXOFiles No.2 Joseph J. McDonough Comes Full Circle, Takes Helm at Soteria

Last month, peripatetic CEO Joseph J. McDonough returned to imaging after a 5-year hiatus, this time as CEO of Soteria Imaging Services, Louisville, Ky, with a mandate to grow. His last imaging stint was as CEO of International Radiology Group/American Imaging Management, Dallas, Texas, and since then he has served as CEO of home health care

Real Rads Don’t Eat Quiche

And they definitely do not do “admin”.

Academic Incentive Plan: A Takeaway for Private Practice?

Does an incentive plan designed for an academic practice have applications in private practice? More specifically, can outpatient-focused radiology practices find something of value in an incentive plan that assigns points to various behaviors in addition to RVUs? An article by Edward Bluth, MD, chairman of radiology at Ochsner Clinic, in the May

Data and Destiny: A Conversation with Commissure CEO Michael Mardini

The mantra for practice management in the post-DRA era is data management, and everyone knows how much data a radiology practice can produce. From the multitude of bills (service points) to the vast number of customers—not to mention the deluge of clinical data—radiology practices need tools. Commissure offers tools that assist in three domains:

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.