Quality

The focus of quality improvement in healthcare is to bolster performance and processes related to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Leaders in this space also ensure the proper selection of imaging exams and procedures, and monitor the safety of services, among other duties. Reimbursement programs such as the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) utilize financial incentives to improve quality. This also includes setting and maintaining care quality initiatives, such as the requirements set by the Joint Commission.

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New Payment Models: Where Culture and Business Intelligence Meet

The specifics of how the traditional radiology practice model will fit with the emerging paradigm of the accountable-care organization (ACO) remain unclear, but it is clear that radiologists should be thinking about how to bend the cost and quality curves, according to Ted Kerner, MD, CEO of Triad Radiology Associates (Winston-Salem, North Carolina

New World, New Infrastructure: Informatics Requirements of Emerging Payment Models

Much has been said and written in anticipation of new payment models like the accountable-care organization (ACO), but one consideration that often falls by the wayside, in all the talk of risk and reward, is informatics, Tom Smith says. Smith is CIO of Triad Radiology Associates (Winston-Salem, North Carolina). “With ACOs still in the early stages

ACOs and the Radiology Practice: Adding and Quantifying Value

The stated aims of accountable-care organizations (ACOs) mirror the triple aim proposed by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (Cambridge, Massachusetts), and both sets of goals have one common thrust: placing the patient at the center of the health-care continuum. As Linda Skarzynski, CFO for Triad Radiology Associates (Winston-Salem, North

Analytics Key to Catalyzing Change

The central goal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is, as its name suggests, to restore patients to their rightful place as the center around which US health care revolves. Though the legislation is complex, the goal is simple: to incentivize an overburdened, decentralized system toward reducing costs while improving

The Road to Interoperability Is Paved With Benefits and Challenges

No matter which alternative imaging-delivery model they opt to follow, radiology practices and hospitals must ensure the interoperability of the systems used to share data internally, as well as with provider partners and payors. The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston, a high-volume teaching hospital, has progressed quite far

Grabbing a Seat at the Alternative Delivery Table

Savvy imaging providers across the spectrum of care have begun to formulate strategies for attracting potential partners with which to ally in alternative care-delivery models. While using analytics to demonstrate the value that one’s organization can bring to the table is key, promoting the interoperability of the systems used to generate and

New Delivery Models Call For Next-Generation Analytics Reports

A desire among practitioners to weather the storm of health care reform (continuing to grow) has recently created a wide berth for alternative health care delivery models and alternate payment mechanisms and models. These include accountable care organizations (ACOs; alternative hospital-centric, integrated delivery models, integrated physician

Physicians Must Take Control of ACO ‘Construct’: A Conversation With Douglas G. Smith

Recent media coverage of accountable-care organizations (ACOs) has included considerable speculation, both about how ACOs will evolve and about the manner in which health-care providers should proceed, in light of such evolution. Douglas G. Smith, FRMBA, is senior vice president of strategic initiatives at Integrated Medical Partners (IMP), a

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