Radiology’s Next Move: Bigger Data

In the 1990s, it was easy to be a success. You had to work hard not to be a success. That’s not true any more,” according to Michael P. Recht, MD, Louis Marx professor of radiology at New York University School of Medicine and chair of the radiology...

The Road to Actionable Information:Q & A with Robert J. Kebbekus

Radiology practices interface with many disparate information systems that produce data, but generating meaningful reports that pull information from all of those systems—PACS, RIS, billing, and reporting—is too cumbersome to be done with any regularity. As payors begin to link reimbursement to outcomes and episodes of care...

Unlocking the Business-intelligence Vaults in Radiology

In the current climate of accountability, regulation, and continual improvement, radiology managers and administrators are called upon to make timely and informed decisions that affect the quality of their departments’ output (the radiology report) and the financial viability of their practices. Successful managers need a system of measurements (metrics)...

The ACR GRID Program: Ready for Its Close-up

A relative newcomer amongst the ACR® data registries is the General Radiology Improvement Database (GRID) program. Part of the ACR’s National Radiology Data Registry, GRID’s focus is evidence-based health outcomes and process...

$300,000 Leaner and 97% Happy

At Portsmouth Regional Hospital in New Hampshire, a team that included members of the radiology department, centralized scheduling, a floor nurse, and the COO entered a room with the goal of improving the satisfaction of customers (including patients, physicians, and nurses). The team emerged, five days later, with a...

Getting Started

Anne Daley, a senior consultant at Chi Solutions Inc, Ann Arbor, Michigan, offers a few examples of easy-to-implement lean activities that can lead to important process changes for radiology (while acclimating both leaders and staff to the new methods). “When you first start doing lean services, in my opinion,...

The One With the Most Data Wins

Well, almost: Virtually every practice or hospital has tons of raw data. Getting data is not the issue. The real issue is having the knowledge and skill to interpret the data and develop strategies based on the stories told deep within data catacombs. This is what separates level 5 performers...

Measuring Up: Integrating Performance Benchmarks Into the Practice

Within the past 10 years, the topic of physician-performance benchmarking has progressed from contentious to being one on which entire meetings in the radiology community are based. Some industry analysts say that this evolution has occurred because measuring physician performance has become a necessity, in today’s health-care environment, due...

Finding Benchmarks for Imaging’s Operating Costs

The operational management of medical imaging is obviously a significant expense, yet it has rarely been studied. In 1999, 55% of imaging costs were spent on...

Managing by Benchmarks: Making the Case for Accountability

Benchmarks enable managers to gain knowledge of their organizations and build a culture of accountability

Corporate CEO Jack Welch adopted a statement...

Retail Metrics: Opportunity Knocks Every Time the Threshold Darkens

When a customer walks in the door, Mark Schulein sees opportunities. The first opportunity is to create an experience so memorable that the customer...

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Appropriateness and the ACO: How Radiology Can Position Itself to Lead

The Growth Paradox: How Should Radiologists’ Behavior Be Rewarded?

Using Analytics to Achieve Strategic Goals: Quantum Imaging & Therapeutic Associates

Perspectives on Quality

IMAGINGBIZ FAMILY OF PUBLICATIONS

Benchmarking the Cost of Processing Charges: Is Your Cost Too High?

Radiology practices create the largest number of new accounts per month of any specialty within a health care delivery system. On average, a practice reading 500,000 examinations per year would generate 35,000 new accounts per month. The billing issue that confronts every radiology practice is achieving a balance between processing costs...

In Search of Best Practices: Benchmarking and Information Sharing

I had the opportunity to be guest at the strategic planning session for the Radiology Business Management Association (RBMA) a few years ago. This meeting consisted of the board members of RBMA and chairs of the various committees and at one point addressed the need of data in benchmarking...