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.

Betting Long: Technology Investment Trumps Partners’ Income Boost

Many radiology-practice leaders will, at one juncture or another, pursue business directions intended to increase partners’ incomes. While nothing is inherently wrong with this approach, following an alternate route that involves investing in technology to position the practice for greater income in the future—and leveraging data to justify and

A Conversation With Douglas G. Smith: The Business-intelligence Imperative

Today, more than ever, imaging providers must harness the power of actionable business intelligence in all aspects of their operations, including the communication of quantifiable outcomes to payors, client hospitals, referrers, and patients. Such is the strategy to be explored in each issue of RadAnalytics, under the MedAnalytix.com umbrella.

Driven by Data: Instinct Takes a Back Seat to Metrics

In early 2009, physician and business leaders of Advanced Medical Imaging Consultants, PC, Fort Collins, Colorado, found themselves wrestling with the decision of whether to add a new site of service at a rural hospital. Instinct told them that the practice was up for the challenge: With 27 radiologists and 17 staff members (including full-time

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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.