A San Diego federal court ruled that Beverly Hills radiologist Ronald Grusd and his companies, California Imaging Network Medical Group and Willows Consulting Company, are guilty of fraud and bribery in connection with a paid kickback scheme.

California-based Radiology Partners has secured a $695 million credit facility from Golub Capital and has also closed its partnership with Southwest Diagnostic Imaging (SDI).

Kathleen A. Ward, MD, a radiologist at Loyola Medicine in Maywood, Ill., was recently named an Inaugural Fellow of the American Association for Women Radiologists (AAWR). Ward spoke to Radiology Business about the current shortage of women radiologists, how the industry can get more females interested in the practice of radiology and what she hopes the future of radiology will look like in five years.

When Anthem implemented its new policy to push outpatient imaging not deemed medically necessary out of hospitals earlier this year in several states, many thought leaders within the industry spoke out in anger while others had more of a “wait and see” approach. Now, in a recent editorial in the Journal of the American College of Radiology, the chair of the ACR Board of Chancellors, James A. Brink, MD, has written about the controversial policy, noting that it has created a potential rift within the industry.

Heading into the economically and politically turbulent year that 2018 is sure to be, radiology practices need all the navigational help they can get if they want to not only survive, but thrive in these uncertain times. In-depth assists are available, for free, from vRad for those dealing with staffing shortages, data security concerns, final-read demands and overall practice-performance issues. Here are descriptions and links to online resources that will help practice leaders navigate the course to becoming a high performance radiology practice.

Look to RSNA 2017 for hints on what to prepare for in 2018 and you may take some comfort in the familiar: The profession-wide challenges and opportunities that were common across radiology over the past year aren’t clearing out to make room for entirely new concerns and changes. However, you’ll also need to reckon with the reality of ever-advancing—and in many areas, only accelerating—change.

Newest Systems Will Equip Hospital to Complete Conversion to DR 

Lifetime cost-effectiveness analysis reveals $630 million annual cost savings, less radiation exposure and better quality of life for patients compared to external beam radiation therapy