The ACR and Its Real-world B-school

October 02, 2009 | Final Read

I recently had the privilege of being part of the faculty for the ACR’s practice leaders’ meeting, and I came away not only impressed by the intellectual bandwidth of the leaders in attendance, but equally impressed by what the college itself is doing on behalf of the profession.... Read More »

Productivity Tracking for Radiologists

April 15, 2009 | RadBrand Builder

Because there are not enough radiologists available to meet demand, practices must learn to make the most of radiologists’ available time, according to a paper presented in Chicago at RSNA 2008: Personal Learning in the Global Community. On December 3, Tracking Physician Productivity: Is It Necessary and How Should It Be... Read More »

Radiology: Ancillary No More

March 01, 2009 | The Bottom Line

Radiologists must counteract practice developments that can result in trivializing their specialty’s contributions to medicine

Under the 1989 Stark legislation, radiology services, both diagnostic and therapeutic, were classified by Medicare as ancillary. Medical imaging and radiation therapy were categorized as comparable to laboratory services, physical therapy, occupational... Read More »

Heroes in Proving the Value of Imaging: Part 1

January 15, 2009 | Imaging Futures

Heroes in Proving the Value of Imaging is an occasional series about advocates for the profession who are working to enhance radiology through research, governmental affairs, humanitarian efforts, and more. In Part 1, ImagingBiz speaks with academic leader Bruce Hillman, MD.

The academicians best positioned to... Read More »

Patient Surveys Guide Competitive Strategies

December 16, 2008 | RadBrand Builder

Asking customers what they need is one of the best ways of retaining their business, in the experience of Frank J. Lexa, MD, MBA. Lexa is clinical professor of radiology, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Philadelphia; professor and Asia regional manager of The Global Consulting Practicum and adjunct professor,... Read More »

Summit Radiology CEO Mark Schaefer: The Role of IT in Building the Practice

December 16, 2008 | CXO Files

The story of Summit Radiology is in some respects archetypal: the story of the modern radiology practice. Responding to changes in the health care regulatory and reimbursement environment in the late 1960s, staff radiologists at St Joseph and Lutheran Hospitals in Fort Wayne, Ind, formed Allen County Radiology Associates,... Read More »

Tomorrow’s Successful Imaging Leaders

September 01, 2008 | The Bottom Line

In despair at the way its programs were organized, the business school at one university recruited as the director of programs a successful businessman, who had made a modest fortune in his own business and wanted to move on to a new career. ‘I will soon put some order... Read More »

Physician Productivity Tracking Takes Hold

September 01, 2008 | Feature

With reimbursement declining, more practices are wading into the dangerous waters of tracking radiologists’ productivity

No matter how common measuring productivity becomes, there is a deficiency behind it: tracking does not always reflect reality and, as a result, can cause diligent workers to appear less productive. Output-tracking... Read More »

Lynn Elliot: Moving RATC Beyond the Field of Dreams

August 15, 2008 | CXO Files

In 1998, Lynn Elliott, MBA, CPA, accepted a position as CEO of the thriving, hospital-based practice of Radiology Associates of Tarrant County (RATC), Fort Worth, Tex. With nine hospital clients but just one full-service imaging center, RATC charged Elliott with the task of growing the practice’s outpatient imaging center... Read More »

Assessing the Cost of Individual Radiologists’ Reporting Habits

July 15, 2008 | Revenue Track

Medical billing systems are database files managed using programs that perform accounting functions. These are written to accommodate a daunting number of rules imposed by health-insurance companies and state/federal programs. They contain edit functions that screen all relevant acquired demographic and clinical information for completeness and adherence to... Read More »

The Third Rail: Measuring and Managing Physician Productivity

March 15, 2008 | Governance

Richard Duszak, MD, bears the authority of experience when he cautions those who dare attempt to manage physician productivity: “If you don’t think there is a problem in your practice, you don’t want to go down this road and touch the third rail on the Metro—because... Read More »

Negotiating Exclusive Hospital Contracts: Five Critical Issues

March 15, 2008 | Strategic Planning

Are exclusive hospital contracts negotiable? Of course they are, but when a hospital provides a radiology group with an exclusive contract, the hospital may give the impression that it is a form agreement, ready for signature. What the hospital does not tell you is that these form agreements frequently... Read More »

Aging Well for Radiologists

March 15, 2008 | Governance

Many of the reasons for impaired physician performance (such as physical illness, substance abuse, or psychological difficulties) will not affect all physicians, but all who are fortunate enough to reach an advanced age will have to struggle, sooner or later, with its effects on their work, notes Richard B.... Read More »

Mark Kleinschmidt: Brokering a Shared Vision

March 15, 2008 | CXO Files

When NightHawk Radiology, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, purchased the business infrastructure of St Paul Radiology in the summer of 2007, the entire industry took notice. In purchasing what is widely acknowledged to be one of radiology’s best business operations, NightHawk also acquired one of its strongest leaders in Mark... Read More »

Leadership’s Secret Language

January 15, 2008 | The Big Picture

Regular readers of this column know that throughout the past year, I have written about various aspects of leadership in an attempt to identify our profession’s next generation of change agents. Mere management, even unusually competent management, does not equal leadership, although great leaders can be found in... Read More »

Diversified Radiology: Pressing the Hospital Advantage

January 15, 2008 | CXO Files

Diversified Radiology of Colorado, PC, has cast a long shadow in Denver since radiologist Kenneth Allen, MD, founded the practice in 1927. The group underwent a major growth period in the 1990s, when it merged with Metropolitan Radiology and Western Radiology, and today, the 60-radiologist practice serves 11 hospitals and has... Read More »

CXOFiles No.7 Saunders and Mid-South Imaging Bet on Quality

November 15, 2007 | CXO Files

Worth M. Saunders, MHA, has served as chief administrator for the 32-radiologist Mid-South Imaging and Therapeutics, PA, Memphis, Tenn, since 2003. The position was a change of pace for the outpatient-imaging veteran, who worked for Radiologix for six years prior. Primarily a hospital-based practice, Mid-South serves six of the 14 hospitals... Read More »

CXOFiles No.6 Q & A: Scott Arant American Health Imaging: Bulwark of Single-Modality Model

October 15, 2007 | CXO Files

Scott Arant, CEO of American Health Imaging (AHI), a 20-center chain based in Decatur, Ga, started operations in June of 1998 in Decatur, Ga, an eastside suburb of Atlanta, with an open MRI, as did many other entrepreneurs around the nation. The facility flourished in short time, and AHI sold... Read More »

CXOFiles No.4 Joe A. Paul and Paul N. Cote: The Pair Behind Cypress Partners, LLC

August 15, 2007 | CXO Files

The story of the 14-center imaging chain called Cypress Partners, LLC, [link to: http://www.cypresspartners.com/index.html] is a tale of two partners who honed their skills as hired guns at corporate entities operating in the diagnostic imaging space before becoming masters of their realm with their... Read More »

Carrot Approach to Radiologist Compensation

June 12, 2007 | Legislative Report

A creative radiologist compensation plan is critical for improving group and individual performance as well as attracting and retaining talent. Transforming your practice from a traditional to an incentive-based compensation plan can be accomplished through this three-phase process:

Phase I. Review and Prioritize. This phase involves an... Read More »

CXOFiles No.2 Joseph J. McDonough Comes Full Circle, Takes Helm at Soteria

June 12, 2007 | CXO Files

Last month, peripatetic CEO Joseph J. McDonough returned to imaging after a 5-year hiatus, this time as CEO of Soteria Imaging Services, Louisville, Ky, with a mandate to grow. His last imaging stint was as CEO of International Radiology Group/American Imaging Management, Dallas, Texas, and since then he... Read More »

Academic Incentive Plan: A Takeaway for Private Practice?

June 12, 2007 | Legislative Report

Does an incentive plan designed for an academic practice have applications in private practice? More specifically, can outpatient-focused radiology practices find something of value in an incentive plan that assigns points to various behaviors in addition to RVUs? An article by Edward Bluth, MD, chairman of radiology at Ochsner... Read More »

CXOFiles No.1 Leading Jefferson Radiology: Mark S. Grossman

May 15, 2007 | CXO Files

When Hartford, Connecticut-based Jefferson Radiology came calling roughly a year-and-a-half ago for Mark S. Grossman, he was happily ensconced in a large radiology practice in Cincinnati, Ohio. But the opportunity to serve Connecticut’s largest private radiology practice, founded in 1963, proved irresistible. All of the ingredients for success were... Read More »

Building an Emergency Responder Magnet Safety Program, Part II

December 15, 2006 | NONE

Last month we presented a case for proactively training external emergency response personnel in magnet safety, and this month, in Part II, we outline how to develop such an education program for your community. The objectives of your program should be to: