What Can Radiologists Really Do About Unnecessary Imaging?
Published on the Jan. 15, 2015, DiagnosticImaging.com website
By Whitney L.J. Howell
Unnecessary imaging and appropriateness criteria. These two phrases have dominated radiology discussions for the past several years. It’s a complicated topic that has an even more complex, and elusive, answer.
And, according to industry leaders, one of the most critical components to the discussion is the role radiologists play in limiting the number of unnecessary and duplicative imaging studies performed.
“Radiologists get painted as these selfish people who are self-interested and who are going to fight against change,” said Jeremy Bikman, chief executive officer for peer60, a big data survey company that provides analysis based on conversations with on-the-ground professionals. “But, they didn’t create their reimbursement structure. It comes from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and radiologists are just doing the best they can.”
That performance includes responding to and meeting referring physicians’ needs and desires, which, frequently, he said, can be wasteful. A recent peer60 report puts the nationwide cost of unnecessary imaging between $7.47 billion and $11.95 billion annually.
To reach the article in its entirety at its original location: http://www.diagnosticimaging.com/practice-management/what-can-radiologists-really-do-about-unnecessary-imaging
No Such Thing as Big Data in Health Care
Published on the Dec. 3, 2014, DiagnosticImaging.com website
When it comes to big data, health care doesn’t really have any. And, for radiology, that’s a good thing. Small and medium data will work just fine – especially for testing and designing new reimbursement models, according to speakers at this year’s Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) meeting.
Industry experts at this year’s RSNA say the data hospitals and health care systems already have can help providers identify ways to maximize their influence in the design of any future payment models.
“We’re currently in the lowest life form of payment policy. We get paid for events – it’s a transactional delivery system,” said Richard Duszak, MD, vice chair for health policy and practice, department of radiology and imaging sciences, Emory University School of Medicine. “Increasingly, we’re moving to models where we’ll be paid by encounters and engagements.”
The question, he said, is how those models will be designed to ensure radiologists receive appropriate reimbursement for services rendered in a correctly incentivized way. To date, there’s no clear-cut answer, but there are steps radiologists can take – armed with small-to-medium data – to ensure their seat at the decision table.
To read the article in its entirey at its original location: http://www.diagnosticimaging.com/rsna-2014/no-such-thing-big-data-health-care
Who am I?
I’m a seasoned reporter, writer, freelancer and public relations specialist with a master’s degree in international print journalism from The American University in Washington, D.C.
I launched my journalism career as a stringer for UPI on Sept. 11, 2001, on Capitol Hill. That day led to a two-year stint as a daily political reporter in Montgomery County, Md. As a staff writer for the Association of American Medical Colleges, a public relations specialist for the Duke University Medical Center and the public relations director for the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Nursing, I’ve earned in-depth experience in covering health care, including academic medicine, health care reform, women’s health, pediatrics, radiology, and Medicare.
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