In looking at aggregate procedure counts in Medicare Part B medical imaging over the past eight years, the drama that unfolded between 2003 and 2010 is nowhere to be seen. Both rapid escalation in the imaging growth rate and a subsequent, nearly equivalent decline in volumes are lost in a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of –0.9% over eight years

With mounting pressure to curb the cost of health care, large medical groups need to prepare themselves for oncoming payment reform. Policymakers have been experimenting with different models, resulting in the CMS Pioneer Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Model and the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP). Providers are now being asked to

On May 22, “Imaging and Accountability: Imaging’s Role in the Integrated Health Network” was presented at the RBMA 2012 Radiology Summit in Orlando, Florida. This discussion has been excerpted from the statements of that panel, which was composed of a practice-president radiologist, a hospital president, an imaging-chain executive, and an industry

Despite serious reimbursement pressure, the imaging-center market appears to be on the move again, adding 131 sites as of the first quarter of 2012. While this year’s expansion does not approach the tremendous growth rates of the period between 2000 and 2008, when the market more than doubled (from 3,068 centers to 6,431), it does return the sector

Since the passage of the DRA, and through subsequent hits to reimbursement for imaging, one question has been perennial in the radiology community: How can radiologists raise their profile with patients without sacrificing productivity (or profitability)? John A. Patti, MD, chair of the ACR® board of chancellors, suggests that radiologists should

With a bundled-payment pilot program instituted by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act set to begin in 2013, it is interesting (and perhaps instructive) to look at a three-year CMS project nearing its endpoint—the Acute Care Episode (ACE) Demonstration1 for orthopedic and cardiovascular surgery—through the eyes of one participating

Buy a banana, and it will cost you less than a dollar per pound—unless you’re in a hotel, where it might cost you twice the grocery-store price. The prices of many items readily obtainable by the consumer usually fall within a well-defined range, according to supply and demand. This is not so in health care (in general) and in medical imaging

October 1, 2013, ushers in a new era in coding. That is when health-care providers in all categories will be required to submit claims to CMS using the new ICD-10 codes. These codes must be used for all HIPAA transactions, including outpatient claims with dates of service—as well as on inpatient claims with dates of discharge—on and after October 1