The Ultimate RSNA Wish List

November 28, 2011 | Priors

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... Read More »

Providers to Increase Purchases of Medical-imaging Technology in 2011

February 16, 2011 | Priors

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... Read More »

Strategic Technology Acquisition in the Era of Accountable Care

November 28, 2010 | Feature

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:... Read More »

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

October 11, 2010 | Productivity

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... Read More »

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

September 15, 2010 | Imaging Futures

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 Read More »

Community Hospital Makes Strategic Post-reform Decision

September 15, 2010 | Productivity

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... Read More »

Financial Justification for Imaging Equipment

April 29, 2010 | Capital Budgeting

Claiming a share of the capital budget for imaging equipment is not always hard, but it certainly can seem overwhelming. The financial-justification step of capital budgeting can be particularly daunting, but it will be less difficult if it is preceded by an understanding of pro forma development and the... Read More »

Bariatric MRI: Challenges and Work-arounds

April 12, 2010 | A Better Mousetrap

ThedaCare is Northeastern Wisconsin’s largest community-owned health system; its numerous radiology units strive to provide the highest-quality imaging to attract new referrals while simultaneously retaining hard-won existing business. Until relatively recently, however, performing MRI exams for patients weighing more than 300 pounds was a problem.

MRI: The Next Generation

February 24, 2010 | Feature

MRI has come a long way since its inception, and it has yet to cease evolving. New developments continue to surface, bringing with them changes in radiology practice patterns and opportunities to bolster revenues by attracting new patient populations.

The evolution of multichannel coils ranks among the... Read More »

RSNA 2009: A Finger on the Pulse and An Eye to the Future

December 01, 2009 | Feature

This year’s meeting of the RSNA in Chicago, Illinois, to be held November 29 through December 4, will feature approximately 4,000 scientific papers, posters, and educational exhibits, and despite the recession, the society expects to welcome nearly 60,000 attendees from around the globe. The meeting will include perennial favorites like the mock... Read More »

The Impact of 320 Detector Rows: Aquilion ONE in the Pediatric Setting

October 02, 2009 | Feature

Sponsored by Toshiba America Medical Systems

Dose is a central consideration in the CT suite for the pediatric patient, and finding a scanner that minimized dose to a level as low as technically achievable was the primary consideration for Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH), Little Rock, when... Read More »

Iterative Reconstruction: Ready for Its Close-up?

August 17, 2009 | Enterprise View

Enhanced image clarity, less noise, and half the radiation exposure for patients: sound good? It’s true. It’s iterative reconstruction, and it’s a mounting wave in multidetector CT technology. There’s only one catch—it’s time-consuming unless you happen to have the proprietary software of the... Read More »

The Hard Copier’s Dilemma

July 15, 2009 | A Better Mousetrap

Along London’s celebrated avenue of high-end medical care, Harley Street, it’s not uncommon to see sights that would make any hardened veteran of the US health care system green with envy. Though coverage through the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) is provided free to all comers—... Read More »

Opening Minds to Open MRI

May 15, 2009 | RadBrand Builder

How do you acquire the high–field-strength open MRI unit of your dreams in a tough economy? Unless you had already budgeted a cool million before the economy tanked, it may be difficult. David Nelson, director of outpatient imaging for BayCare Health System, Clearwater, Fla, overcame his lack of... Read More »

A Case Inquiry:Can RFID Help Reduce Costs in Medical Imaging?

May 02, 2009 | Feature

An exploration of the use of RFID technology to manage contrast inventory in the hospital setting identified potential cost savings, as well as implications for patient safety, inventory management, and billing

Our research aimed to identify and quantify the impact of radiofrequency identification (RFID) technology on inventory... Read More »

Good Vibrations: Ultrasound Elastography

March 15, 2009 | Reading Room

In February, France’s state-operated agency for the funding of innovation awarded a research-and-development grant worth 8.5 million euros to a European company that wants to validate a new application clinically for the still-nascent modality of ultrasound elastography. In this instance, elastography would be used as a targeting mechanism for... Read More »

RSNA 2008: Mining the Landscape, Assessing the Exhibits

March 01, 2009 | Feature

In assessing the imaging technologies on display at RSNA, an observer provides tools for making critical decisions regarding your capital budget for 2009

Despite reports that capital equipment budgets are frozen at some hospitals, buyers were out in force at the 2008 meeting of the RSNA in Chicago. Nonetheless,... Read More »

A First-to-market Approach in Charleston

February 15, 2009 | CXO Files

Imaging Specialists of Charleston opened its doors at a time when most imaging centers were looking for ways to cut costs-and the South Carolina center took an aggressive first-to-market approach, investing in some of the most advanced imaging technology available, including digital mammography and the country’s second open ... Read More »

Due Diligence in Vendor Selection: Laying the Groundwork for a Strong Relationship

January 15, 2009 | Radiology Business Journal

The first installment in this series described the process of evaluating your current vendor relationships to determine which of your concerns are not being met. In this article, we’re assuming that either you’re in the first phase of vendor consideration or you’ve made the decision to... Read More »

Changing Vendors: Costly Mistake or Wise Move?

December 15, 2008 | Radiology Business Journal

Vendor relationships can be tough, and many end in a heap of disappointments, unfulfilled expectations, and miscommunications. If your vendors didn’t deliver, is it your fault or theirs? What really went wrong? Can you fix it? These are million-dollar questions.

This article is... Read More »

Part II: Bringing a Technology Plan of Action to a Successful Conclusion

January 15, 2008 | Radiology Business Journal

Devising an imaging-center strategy and choosing a piece of technology take the imaging-center operator only halfway toward the successful conclusion of a technology plan of action: Further decisions and additional initiatives will be necessary before a piece of technology is successfully deployed.An imaging-center operator must determine whether to... Read More »