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

When it comes to size and influence, Austin Radiological Association (ARA) has few peers. The practice of 72—and soon to be more—radiologists employs 700 people (580 FTEs) in Austin. In addition to covering every one of the 16 hospitals in central Texas, ARA archives most of the radiological images generated at those sites on its regional PACS. The

Over the past 10 years or so, there have been distinct phases in mergers and acquisitions in the medical imaging market. At the turn of the millennium, there was optimism about the state of the market, and consolidation was taking place at the volume that was to be expected, based on the conditions of the time.

The high procedural volumes associated with radiology provide both a challenge and an opportunity. The old days of handling paper persist to varying degrees, but organizations investing in technology to automate common processes have demonstrated an ability to improve productivity and profitability while decreasing associated costs. This is

In a world where a radiologist in Bombay can interpret an x-ray from Buffalo, the Mayo Clinic’s Stephen Swensen, MD, maintains that quality is the only way to distinguish a radiology service. In the February issue of Imaging Economics, Swensen makes the business case for quality and describes the Mayo Clinic approach. Why does a continuous quality

Build a better mousetrap and they’ll beat a path to your door—or will they?