After countless hours and almost 10 years of Herculean effort from Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) members and the American Board of Radiology (ABR), the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS)—the organization that oversees the 24 recognized medical-specialty boards—approved the ABR’s application for a dual primary certificate in interventional radiology and diagnostic radiology.

As health systems around the country initiate conversations with various constituents about becoming accountable-care organizations (ACOs), consternation in the radiology community continues over exactly what participation from practices might look like. Alan Kaye, MD, CEO of Advanced Radiology Consultants (Fairfield, Connecticut), says, “Almost

At the 2012 Annual Meeting & Leadership Summit of the California Radiological Society in San Francisco, California, Richard Duszak, MD, presented “Physician Performance Measurement and Management: Benefits and Pitfalls” on September 8. He was originally asked to cover measuring physician productivity, but Duszak makes a distinction between

Accuracy in radiology can be difficult to gauge; even interpretation, as the term for a radiologist’s work on an imaging study, suggests shades of gray. To quantify accuracy better, 12 years ago, the radiology department at Monmouth Medical Center (Long Branch, New Jersey) launched a project in which it cataloged its attending radiologists’

There are performance attributes that we measure well in today’s radiology practice. We are adept at tracking and analyzing clinical productivity, various revenue indicators, and compliance with programs such as meaningful use and the Physician Quality Reporting System. We have the ability to correlate profitability with payor mix, and we can

Until a short time ago, Advocate Condell Medical Center (ACMC) in Libertyville, Illinois, was in the bottom quartile in customer satisfaction. Its growth was stunted, at best, and annual losses of $50 million had become the norm. The radiology department was a shambles.

Increasingly, imaging leaders are observing changes in patients’ behavior. Schedulers are fielding questions about the cost of procedures, while front-office staff, technologists, and even radiologists are being called upon to deliver greater levels of service—spending more time with patients, alleviating concerns, and explaining procedures.

As radiology practices around the country become increasingly reliant on business analytics and intelligence for decision-making support, the time is ripe to begin devoting additional attention to refining the processes by which their measurements are generated, according to Bill Pickart, CEO of Integrated Medical Partners (IMP). “It is imperative