FDA, Medical Device Industry Reaches Agreement on User Fees

Leadership As Performance Art

I am sure that many of you have read the great 2004 book by Fred Lee, If Disney Ran Your Hospital.1 I have often used the material in this definitive treatise on customer service in my strategic-planning retreats, as the ideas and concepts about which Lee writes are timeless and apply to virtually any service organization.

The book’s key takeaway is essentially that people judge organizations based on the total experience of their encounter with the enterprise. They compare this experience not necessarily with experiences at other, similar providers (in this particular example), but with what they... Read More »

Ready, Set—Attest

When Keith Dreyer, DO, PhD, speaks to an audience of radiologists on meaningful use (something he does quite often, these days), he always asks for a show of hands to determine who is doing what with regard to demonstrating meaningful use of IT. Dreyer, vice chair of radiology computing and information sciences at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, reports that despite their eligibility for the incentives—and exposure to penalties in 2015—a scant few are in the process of attesting to meaningful use of health IT in 2011.

In his keynote presentation, “Meaningful Use for Radiologists: A 10-step... Read More »

Subspecialization and Teleradiology: An Uneasy Alliance

Why would orthopedic surgeons bypass a nearby hospital or imaging center when referring patients? If they happened to be in the Midwest, they might prefer the subspecialized interpretations offered by Linda L. Dew, MD, FRCPC. After more than two decades as a practicing radiologist, Dew has developed expertise in imaging of the feet, ankles, hands, and wrists.

Choosy surgeons have come to rely on her, and they have no qualms about asking patients to go slightly out of their way for an interpretation that they can trust. Dew, who works for a teleradiology company (headquartered in Southern... Read More »

The Radiology Staffing Market, Temporary and Permanent

Introduction: As pressures on reim- bursement and utilization continue to have an impact on the imaging market- place, radiology-staffing data suggest a shift in the availability and use of pro- fessional services over the past decade. This installment of the Imaging Market File tracks current and recent developments in the supply of radiologists, the demand for their temporary (locum tenens) and per- manent services, and related staffing trends, based on data collected by AMN Healthcare (San Diego, California) and Staff Care (Irving, Texas).