The changing outpatient imaging business environment has made it imperative for all radiology managers to continually reduce operating expenses. Reimbursements are being squeezed by the recent Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) cuts and the multi-body part discount. The recently published Moran report, sponsored by the Access to Medical Imaging Coalition

I have been musing about the past 24 years that I have been involved in the business side of radiology and how amazing the transformation of this profession has been during that time. Interestingly, the issues we face today mirror those that we faced in 1983 as prospective payment was then unceremoniously ushered (thrust?) into existence, creating

Most providers of quality diagnostic imaging welcome more stringent quality standards invoked by payors in the belief that higher standards will eliminate inferior providers from their markets. But as payors increasingly resort to employing radiology benefits management companies (RBMs) to help control escalating imaging costs, outpatient-imaging

David C. Levin, MD, unleashed a powerful tool for radiology in the form of newly crunched data illustrating the role of self-referral in the rapid growth of high-tech imaging. Presenting on Recent Trends in Utilization of the Major Imaging Modalities at the RBMA 2007 Summit in St Louis, MO, Levin used data gathered from a variety of sources,

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have both stated the important goals of maintaining access for Medicare beneficiaries, reducing cost, and improving quality as we move forward into the pay-for-performance future. The payment systems used to fund Medicare’s services should

With its announcement that it would buy Cytyc, Marlborough, Mass, for $6.2 billion, Hologic Inc, Bedford, Mass, broadens its position in the women’s health care market and buys access to its gatekeeper: the obstetrician/gynecologist. Will the move precipitate a consolidation on the vendor side of diagnostics that would replicate the consolidation

The Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine (SIIM, formerly SCAR) met last week in Providence, Rhode Island. Some of the hot topics included the following:

Imaging center success hinges on many factors, but without the volume to sustain the operation and power it toward profitability, failure is a given. Breakeven is the bare minimum any business operation must achieve to keep the doors open, yet some radiology groups and entrepreneurs in the imaging center business blow blithely past that and other