Economics

This channel highlights factors that impact hospital and healthcare economics and revenue. This includes news on healthcare policies, reimbursement, marketing, business plans, mergers and acquisitions, supply chain, salaries, staffing, and the implementation of a cost-effective environment for patients and providers.

Interventional radiologists ‘markedly’ increase billing for nonprocedural work, despite drop in overall doc count
"These findings underscore IR’s accelerating transition toward comprehensive patient care, with significant implications for training, practice management, and the specialty’s role within the broader healthcare landscape," experts write.
Radiologists call for new billing codes to reward work outside of interpreting images
Previous studies have shown rads can spend upward of 60% of workhours on such duties, including curbside consults and multidisciplinary meetings.
Radiology practice reaches in-network agreement with UnitedHealthcare 9 months after terminating contract
Arizona-based Southwest Diagnostic Imaging shared the breakthrough Monday, restoring access for patients covered by UHC’s commercial and Medicare Advantage plans effective May 1.
Radiology rises to the No. 2 highest paid specialty, surpassing cardiology and plastic surgery: Medscape
Full-time U.S. radiologists take home about $520,000, a figure that includes base salary, incentive bonuses and other income such as profit-sharing contributions.
Hundreds of radiology practice locations use medical credit cards to secure quicker patient payments
The trend raises questions about the burdens being placed on a potentially vulnerable population, experts write in JAMA Health Forum.

Video of Laxmi Mehta, MD, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, explaining the causes of cardiologist burnout and possible solutions. She spoke on this topic at AHA 2024.

How to address cardiologist burnout

Laxmi Mehta, MD, detailed several ways she and her colleagues at The Ohio State University are working to combat the rising levels of burnout among cardiologists.

Edwards Lifesciences Corporation has shared new one-year data on the safety and effectiveness of its Evoque transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement (TTVR) system among patients with tricuspid regurgitation (TR)

CMS approves Medicare coverage for transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement

CMS will cover TTVR for the treatment of symptomatic tricuspid regurgitation on a national level. The agency first proposed such a policy in December, taking time to consider public comments before finalizing its decision.

Establishing a standalone interventional radiology department: Finances and other key factors

The University of Miami believes it has established the first completely independent IR department in the country, which is thriving years after creation.

Radiology artificial intelligence firm Brainomix raises $18M, expands in US

The company specializes in software focused on stroke and lung fibrosis, with its solutions deployed at over 300 hospitals and impacting 1.5 million patients.

Strategic Radiology grows to over 2,000 physicians, adding state’s largest imaging group

Founded over 60 years ago, New Jersey-based University Radiology, employs 180-plus board-certified rads handling 2.1 million exams annually.

RadNet exploring expansion outside of its 8 core markets in 2025

"We’ve got a pipeline ... and we’re hopeful we can execute and expand the footprint geographically," the company's CFO tells Oppenheimer Conference attendees.

Changes to practice-expense RVU component could spell ‘detrimental consequences’ for radiology

Radiology experts are warning that reimbursements for certain imaging services are not enough to cover expenses, putting specialists in a precarious position.

Imaging experts question validity of new CMS quality measure aimed at reducing CT radiation exposure

The American Association of Physicists in Medicine recently convened a panel of industry experts, devising a list of issues with the new quality metric.

Economics

Interventional radiologists ‘markedly’ increase billing for nonprocedural work, despite drop in overall doc count

Radiologists call for new billing codes to reward work outside of interpreting images

Radiology practice reaches in-network agreement with UnitedHealthcare 9 months after terminating contract

Radiology rises to the No. 2 highest paid specialty, surpassing cardiology and plastic surgery: Medscape

Hundreds of radiology practice locations use medical credit cards to secure quicker patient payments