Medscape Survey: Is Medicine All About the Benjamins?

May 14, 2012 by Cat Vasko

It’s not often that my recreational reading intersects with my professional reading, but I was fascinated by the discussion in the comments of this Gawker post, which briefly remarks on the now-notorious Medscape survey in which only 54% of physicians said they would choose a career in medicine if they had it to do over.

“What gives?” was the question that drove me to the discussion underneath, hoping Gawker’s famously prosaic commenters would offer some additional insight. From an...

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The Error of Measuring Success Only by Action

May 14, 2012 by Mark Weiss

In an organization, we tend to be judged for what we decide to do, not for what we decide not to do.

For example, consider the issue of responding to an RFP. If you respond and your organization is successful, you’ll tout your genius and others will toast to it. Yet it’s very difficult to tout your genius in not responding: We humans tend to place tremendous importance on what’s observable and to ignore that which cannot be seen or experienced. Accordingly, your supposedly rational colleagues will neither pat you on the back nor...

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The Best Marketing Practice You’re Probably Doing Wrong

May 08, 2012 by Steve Smith

In the realm of best marketing practices in medical imaging, one may assume that the most successful enterprises are doing everything – or almost everything – right. “Successful,” though, is a relative term. Volume is no longer equated with profitability and even those facilities, whether an IDTF or a regional or national chain, with appropriate investments in marketing are finding that the going is getting tougher.

It is a wonder, then, why the simplest of marketing efforts still has not taken root in medical imaging the way it has in almost every other profession or industry.

The...

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The ABCs of ACO Economics

April 25, 2012 by Mark Weiss

If the hospitals at which your group provides services haven’t already approached you and your fellow members of the medical staff about ACO formation, the chances are high that they will in the not too distant future. 

Expect that pressure to be great. After all, the hospital will argue, ACOs, or “accountable care organizations,” are all about increasing the quality of care through collaboration.

But recall that Benjamin Disraeli, the great British Prime Minister, once commented that there are lies, damned lies and statistics. I say that it’s time to add acronyms...

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What if Empowering Patients Increases Imaging Use?

April 13, 2012 by Lena Kauffman

Health policy experts understand that reducing waste and overutilization of health care is critical in making our health care system sustainable. They also understand that to do this ethically, patients must be part of the process.

Informed patients who can work together with their doctors to make smart decisions about their care and avoid costly tests and procedures that will not help them get better is the goal behind efforts like Choosing Wisely. However, as patients are empowered with more information about their health and the medical...

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Ready for Patients Who Shop Around?

April 06, 2012 by Steve Smith

Once upon a time, your patient went to his primary care physician and if medical imaging services were ordered, he went wherever the doctor’s office told him to go. Sometimes that meant driving extra miles or taking an appointment at inconvenient hours, all because that is what the doctor told him to do and the doctor knew best.

That was then, this is now: Welcome to websites and other technology that are helping your patient drive his own care – and perhaps even drive him away from you.

The technology, however, is just a tool....

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Do You Make This Mistake Concerning Competition?

March 14, 2012 by Mark Weiss

“The competition.”

When you hear that phrase, even in your thoughts as you read this, what comes to mind?

Most radiology group leaders would say that they envision the competition as another group, whether one from across the county or across the country, whether a local, independent group or a national staffing service model. I certainly can’t fault them...

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Is Hospital Customer Relationship Marketing a Threat?

March 05, 2012 by Steve Smith

You get the pitches everyday. Someone, somewhere, has determined that you are interested in knowing about hotels in Belize, or that the specific size of tire on your car is on sale at a franchise tire shop in your area. The offer even has your name on it.

In marketing, a finely-tuned attempt to attract a specific customer used to be called a “rifle” approach, as opposed to a “shotgun” method, in which a broad message is sent to a broad audience, many of whom are not ready to buy. Today, the rifle method is called “Customer...

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The Super Bowl of Radiology Success

February 22, 2012 by Mark Weiss

Did you notice that the Super Bowl was all about radiology group success?

Let’s look at the lessons from the big game.

First, the Super Bowl isn’t really about football. It’s about business: The two teams and, even more so, the NFL.

Sure, the players are playing football, and it’s expected that they perform at the top of their ability. But what’s really going on at...

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Want to Survive Hard Times? Learn from Morgan and McCracken

February 08, 2012 by Steve Smith

There is a tendency by those working in any profession, whether it is accounting, the law, or healthcare, to gather information from familiar sources. In medical imaging, we read the books, visit the websites and attend the conferences that are steeped in medical jargon and are created by people whose backgrounds qualify them to offer that particular information.

There’s nothing wrong with that, for ongoing education and continuous improvement should be part of our daily routine.

The challenge arises when we fail to recognize the sources outside of medical imaging that may have as...

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