Inevitable Evolution

November 28, 2011 | NONE

When Barry D. Pressman, MD, FACR, began his radiology career, Nixon was resigning from the White House and neuroradiology was just developing as a specialty. Musculoskeletal radiology largely meant reading bone radiographs. Pressman says, “CT came on the scene in 1972, but we didn’t even know how to spell... Read More »

The Future of the Practice of Radiology

November 28, 2011 | The Bottom Line

I have great optimism for the survival of the practice of radiology. I believe that many groups will thrive, and that there is the opportunity for continued professional satisfaction. For many of us, however, success will need to be redefined.

There are many changes occurring around us.... Read More »

The Tricky Art of Leadership Succession: Who Wants the Ball?

October 28, 2011 | Feature

It is a well-accepted axiom in business that to be successful, a leader must want to lead. The truth, though, is that business entities often struggle to find leaders because no one really wants to put in the time or make the effort to push the organization up the... Read More »

Pay and Partnership in Radiology Practices

October 28, 2011 | Feature

In the past, many radiology private practices used a fairly traditional (and extended) track leading to full partnership in the practice. Now, however, many practices are exploring emerging compensation models—including accelerated partnership tracks and enhanced flexibility in balancing earnings and hours—to accommodate the needs and preferences of... Read More »

Measuring Performance in Radiology

October 28, 2011 | Feature

Number crunchers at radiology practices might occasionally lose sleep over the complex nature of performance assessment, but that’s nothing, compared with the sleepless nights experienced by women who learn of possible breast abnormalities. In his work as regional radiology department chief at Kaiser Permanente (KP) Colorado in Denver,... Read More »

Charting the Leadership Course: Tales From the High Seas

October 28, 2011 | Feature

What qualities make a radiology leader? What experiences best prepare leaders to assume their roles? How do leaders know whether they are performing to the best of their abilities? These were among the questions that Radiology Business Journal recently asked four undisputed industry leaders: a radiology-department chair, a practice... Read More »

Improving Radiology for Radiologists: Thomas Pope, MD

July 16, 2011 | Imaging Futures

Thomas Pope, MD, a musculoskeletal MRI and breast-imaging specialist with Radisphere National Radiology Group (Beachwood, Ohio), began his career in subspecialty imaging before it was common for radiologists to be fellowship trained. “I never did a fellowship, but I received on-the-job training in musculoskeletal radiology from my mentor at... Read More »

The Radiology MBA

February 17, 2011 | Final Read

A thought occurred to me recently, as I worked with a rather large and very successful radiology practice: Radiologists in private practice who have built organizations functioning at high levels have done so, for the most part, without the benefit of a formal education in business. Trial and error,... Read More »

Right-brain Radiology

January 16, 2011 | The Big Picture

You might recall that a few years ago, in this column, I extolled the virtues of a unique book by Daniel Pink called A Whole New Mind: Why Right-brainers Will Rule the Future (Riverhead, 2006). It discusses the emergence, in our society, of a new appreciation for a balance between... Read More »

Business 101: Communication and Information Sharing in Radiology

December 12, 2010 | Revenue Track

This article is the final installment in a four-part series on applying basic business concepts to radiology. To read the first installment, click here; to read the second, click Read More »

Facing the Revolution

November 28, 2010 | The Bottom Line

It can certainly be said that the past four years have not been the best of times for radiology practice managers. Since the enactment of the DRA, practices with significant imaging-center investments have seen margins slashed, year after year, with no end in sight.

Hospital-based practices have... Read More »

Driven by Data: Instinct Takes a Back Seat to Metrics

October 31, 2010 | Reporting Performance

In early 2009, physician and business leaders of Advanced Medical Imaging Consultants, PC, Fort Collins, Colorado, found themselves wrestling with the decision of whether to add a new site of service at a rural hospital. Instinct told them that the practice was up for the challenge: With 27 radiologists and 17 staff... Read More »

Privileges at Stake in IR Lawsuit

October 13, 2010 | Legal Matters

The attorney for six interventional radiologists who have been barred, under an exclusivity contract, from practicing at three Sutter Health hospitals in the greater Sacramento, California, area is warning physicians that if Sutter Health prevails in these cases, subspecialists at other hospitals might find that their hospital privileges are... Read More »

Business 101: Goal Execution for Radiology

September 15, 2010 | Revenue Track

This article is the third installment in a four-part series on applying basic business concepts to radiology. To read the first installment, click here; to read the second, Read More »

Turbulent Waters

September 02, 2010 | The Bottom Line

The current environment in radiology is changing quickly—and the pace of change is accelerating. Radiologists are accustomed to change. In fact, some would say that radiology is the primary field of change, but never has the pace of change been so rapid. In addition to the new technological... Read More »

From Partner to Employee: The Captive Radiology Practice

July 07, 2010 | Feature

Terry Owen is senior vice president of Florida Hospital in Orlando. He says, “We think the old days of fee for service, the high-water mark, are behind us.” What’s coming is some permutation of the accountable-care organization (ACO), with bundling of payment for services and outcomes-driven treatment. “If... Read More »

CEO Roundtable: Practice–Hospital Relations

April 29, 2010 | Feature

Leading an independent radiology practice has never been more challenging. Congress has escalated the timetable for reductions to the outpatient-imaging technical component to help pay for health-care reform. Health systems have embarked on a medical-practice–buying spree across specialties and primary care, leading to some very well publicized meltdowns... Read More »

Life After Sutter

April 28, 2010 | Practice Management

When news spread that Sutter Health (Sacramento, California) planned to cut loose its long-time radiology provider in Sacramento in favor of a captive model, some observers wondered how Radiological Associates of Sacramento (RAS), a 76-radiologist practice founded in 1917, would survive.

Not only has it sustained the blow,... Read More »

Tapping the Rural Market: A User’s Guide

April 12, 2010 | Revenue Track

The emergence of PACS has given practices a chance to expand their business and boost revenue by tapping the rural hospital market. Before adding clients to their own networks, however, groups must pay attention to projected costs and potential profits, according to Gabe Graham, CPA, a... Read More »

The Tortoise and the Stack Burner

April 12, 2010 | The Big Picture

You know the tale. In the end, the steady pace of the tortoise won out over the supreme confidence and sheer speed of the hare; the hare simply did not value the focus, commitment, skill set, and tenacity exhibited by the tortoise. There are lots of lessons to be... Read More »

Business 101: Using Basics to Grow Revenue

March 16, 2010 | Revenue Track

As radiology practices nationwide look for new revenue streams to compensate for ever-declining reimbursement, the answer might be getting back to basics, according to Greg Thomson and Dan Simile Jr of Medical Management Professionals, Inc (MMP), Atlanta, Georgia. In the first installment of a four-part series on critical business... Read More »

Relationships Gone Wild

February 24, 2010 | Final Read

All across the country, in markets large and small, a drama once considered unimaginable is unfolding in ways that are shaking the confidence of many radiology practitioners and creating tension within the ranks of hospital administrators. The issue relates to the unilateral breaking apart of longstanding exclusive contracts with... Read More »

Radiology Practices Fight Declining Technical Revenues

February 15, 2010 | Revenue Track

Declining technical revenues have become a way of life for imaging practices, but that doesn’t mean that they are taking the situation lying down: “Having a proactive stance and an ongoing application of strategies to compensate for decreases, head on, is a must for facilities with... Read More »

Key Metrics for 2010: A Conversation With Marcia Flaherty, CEO, Riverside Radiology

January 18, 2010 | CXO Files

At RSNA 2009, analysis of key metrics was emphasized as a means for radiology practices to improve operations, augment quality, and reduce costs. In 2010’s health care environment of ever-declining reimbursement and renewed focus on outcomes, what are the key metrics for practices to use? ImagingBiz.com spoke... Read More »

Leveraging RVU Data to Improve Productivity

December 21, 2009 | Revenue Track

Friendly competition has developed among the five radiologists of Capital Imaging Associates, Albany, New York, to the benefit of referrers (and, potentially, to patient care). Six months ago, the group implemented an RVU-based system for productivity tracking, which has allowed the physicians to gain awareness of their individual caseloads... Read More »