Meaningful Use and Radiology: Fully Certified Versus Modular Approaches

“Why make your RIS into an electronic health record (EHR) just to satisfy meaningful use?” David Avrin, MD, PhD, asks. It is a question that Avrin, professor of radiology and biomedical imaging at the University of California–San Francisco, has been asking (in one form or another) since the...

Patient Satisfaction With Imaging Is Increasingly Critical to Referrers

As health care becomes increasingly consumer driven, patients are expecting higher levels of service and satisfaction from their providers, including providers of medical imaging. Elliot Silverman, director of imaging services at Palmetto General Hospital (Hialeah, Florida), notes that many patients have only a vague notion of what’s in...

The Ultimate RSNA Wish List

The annual meeting of the RSNA, already one of the largest medical conferences in the world, stands to reach new proportions this year. Total registrations for the 2011 meeting in Chicago, Illinois, which starts November 27, are up 7% over 2010’s total.

The massive 459,000–square-foot convention space at McCormick Place...

Providers to Increase Purchases of Medical-imaging Technology in 2011

In a promising sign of economic recovery, hospital-based radiology decision makers intend to spend 10% more overall on medical-imaging technology this year, according to a new report from KLAS (Orem, Utah). According to Diagnostic Imaging Purchases 2010: Spending Increases, Loyalty Is Tested, providers plan to meet or increase purchases in all...

Strategic Technology Acquisition in the Era of Accountable Care

With the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), the health-care community is preparing for a tidal shift in how all providers are expected to perform. Hospitals and physicians increasingly will be held more accountable for ensuring that the key pillars of health-care reform are satisfied:...

Know the Market, Grow the Market: St Joseph Mercy Hospital

In today’s business environment, it is critical for health care organizations and their leaders to demonstrate a thorough understanding of their respective markets’ dynamics, needs and demands—and to make decisions accordingly, said Donna Wade in the “Know Your Market to Grow Your Market” session held on August 24...

Imaging’s 21st-century Challenges: Decentralization, Digitization, and Distribution

In many ways, the challenges facing imaging in the 21st century are similar to those facing other industries: decentralizing both staff and workplaces; digitizing data; and distributing those data in a way that is efficient, cost effective, and secure. Anthony Toppins, MD, musculoskeletal radiologist with Community Hospital Makes Strategic Post-reform Decision

In the aftermath of imaging reimbursement cuts and health care reform, provider organizations are looking at how to do more with less, and making purchasing decisions that position them to be able to accommodate the widest range of patients. That’s why Brian Wetzel, RT, CNMT, radiology administrator at 26...