Every year, radiology professionals who are responsible for ensuring the accuracy and compliance of coding and billing practices must do an internal assessment to ensure that their practices/organizations would withstand external scrutiny. In 2008, there continue to be many reimbursement, coding, and compliance challenges for radiology

When NightHawk Radiology, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, purchased the business infrastructure of St Paul Radiology in the summer of 2007, the entire industry took notice. In purchasing what is widely acknowledged to be one of radiology’s best business operations, NightHawk also acquired one of its strongest leaders in Mark Kleinschmidt, St Paul’s former

Staying abreast with (or, better yet, staying ahead of) the imaging-technology curve clearly follows a clinical imperative. Better imaging tools—in this case, 3D postprocessed reconstructions—have an immediate payoff for patient care. When a surgeon can use 3D imaging to measure and plan a vascular procedure better, for instance, the clinical

The recent business news about Microsoft making a run at Yahoo has me ruminating about the deal-making climate in outpatient imaging and how the current trend toward strategic partnerships, mergers, and acquisitions is changing the competitive landscape in many markets around the country. RadNet’s acquisition activity alone is driving consolidation

Many imaging providers have been wishing for changes in reimbursement policies for cardiac CT angiography (CCTA) for some time. Changes are about to be made, but those wishes may not be granted. In December 2007, CMS proposed major restrictions on coverage for CCTA that could take effect as early as March 2008. The conclusions that CMS discussed in

Across the nation, outpatient imaging centers (OICs) are looking for ways to protect what they have built and ways to grow. Protection strategies usually involve shoring up relationships with key referrers and ensuring that the practice brand is established and being supported in every department.

With the cost of advanced imaging technology always on the rise and reimbursement continually declining, now, more than ever, it is crucial that imaging centers negotiate optimal managed care contracts. Unfortunately, managed care is currently targeting imaging centers, owing to concerns about overutilization and escalating costs. How can imaging

It is clear that gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCA) for MRI improve detection (sensitivity), characterization (specificity), disease staging, and diagnostic confidence levels. It has also become clear that nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) is associated with their use in patients with preexisting kidney disease. For radiology, the challenge