Hub: News from around the coalition and beyond
SR Advocacy: Raising the Profile of Private Practice Radiology on Capitol Hill
SR Advocacy: Raising the Profile of Private Practice Radiology on Capitol Hill
January 30, 2024

The health care regulatory and economic environment is so complex that independent physician practices are challenged to comply, compete, and function as cornerstones of both health care and the communities they serve. Strategic Radiology aims not just to help its 37 member groups remain competitive—it strives to influence how Washington perceives, values, and compensates private radiology practices in the U.S.

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Greg Thomson, CPA: Introducing SR's New Chief Operating Officer
Greg Thomson, CPA: Introducing SR's New Chief Operating Officer
January 30, 2024

Occupying a ringside seat on the private practice radiology arena during a career that spans three decades, Greg Thomson, CPA, has seen the specialty evolve and adapt to a continually changing—and often challenging—health care environment. As Strategic Radiology’s new chief operating officer, he is far from done.

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ACR-SIR Virtual Town Hall: DR and IR: Better Together or…Not?
ACR-SIR Virtual Town Hall: DR and IR: Better Together or…Not?
January 30, 2024

More than 400 diagnostic and interventional radiologists signed onto a virtual Town Hall organized by ACR and SIR to address a rising conflict that is currently roiling a specialty squeezed by a workforce shortage—DI and IR: Better Together…or Not?

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Wenhui Zhou, MD, PhD: Leveraging Multiparametric MRI & Machine Learning for Greater Certainty in DCIS
Wenhui Zhou, MD, PhD: Leveraging Multiparametric MRI & Machine Learning for Greater Certainty in DCIS
January 30, 2024

This year, the SR-RSNA Research & Education (R&E) Foundation Resident Seed Grant will help finance the research of Wenhui Zhou, MD, PhD, a 4th year radiology resident at Stanford University Medical School with a strong interest in cancer imaging and interventions. Dr. Zhou’s grant is the fifth in a series of 20 grants to be funded through contributions by individual Strategic Radiology member practices to the RSNA R & E Foundation.

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ACR Workforce Survey: Now for Something Completely Different
ACR Workforce Survey: Now for Something Completely Different
September 26, 2023

In January 2020, as cases of Covid-19 were proliferating across the globe, Eric Rubin, MD, began his first term as chair of the ACR Human Resources Commission. The commission has surveyed practice leaders annually since 2012, but that year the commission did something it had never done before—it paused.

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Meet Summit Radiology: Flexible Employment Model, Fair Comp, and Willing to Serve
Meet Summit Radiology: Flexible Employment Model, Fair Comp, and Willing to Serve
September 24, 2023

It’s been a phenomenal year of growth for one of Strategic Radiology‘s newest members, Summit Radiology in Fort Wayne, Ind., which grew from 60 to 80 subspecialized radiologists and from 21 to 26 hospital contracts in the past 12 months. President Daniel Branam, MD, attributes the surge to three things: 15 years of investment in building IT infrastructure and personnel, vigorous experimentation in radiologist practice models, and a confluence of current radiology events.

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Identify, Finance, Implement: Building an AI Playbook for Private Practices
Identify, Finance, Implement: Building an AI Playbook for Private Practices
September 24, 2023

With dozens of artificial intelligence (AI) applications for radiology on the market, how does a private practice identify the best AI tools for its needs, cover licensing costs, implement the technology for maximum effectiveness, and measure the results to ensure that the tools are providing the anticipated return on investment?

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First Year in Private Practice: Early-Career Rads Share Tips on Landing—and Sticking—the Perfect Job: Part 1
First Year in Private Practice: Early-Career Rads Share Tips on Landing—and Sticking—the Perfect Job: Part 1
September 26, 2023

Fresh from surfing in Costa Rico, a painful drubbing for the LSU Tigers, the first MRI lymphangiogram in the state of Georgia, and the birth of a son, a lively panel of early-career radiologists from Strategic Radiology (SR) member groups shared tips and pointers for residents and fellows during a fast-moving virtual happy hour exploring the First Year in Private Practice earlier this month. The panelists imparted practical and valuable information intended to help trainee radiologists navigate the transition to and through their first year in private practice.

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SR Health:  Lower Premiums, Increased Control Over Health Insurance
SR Health: Lower Premiums, Increased Control Over Health Insurance
March 21, 2023

Strategic Radiology (SR) launched SR Health on January 1, 2023, to provide coverage for the shareholders and employees of its 37 independent private practice member groups. In creating a partially self-funded insurance plan—totally owned by members—the coalition anticipates that members will achieve significant savings on premiums, greater control of coverage options, and visibility into plan data.

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How Quality Improvement Methods Can Mitigate Staffing Shortages
How Quality Improvement Methods Can Mitigate Staffing Shortages
March 22, 2023

Radiology practices play a crucial role in health care, providing medical imaging services that aid in diagnosing and treating a wide range of medical conditions. When radiology departments experience staffing shortages, repercussions are felt throughout the enterprise with a significant impact on patient care and overall efficiency. Quality methods can help radiology practices improve efficiency during staffing shortages and ensure that patients receive timely and accurate diagnoses and treatment.

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SRC: A Classic Independent Practice Success Story
SRC: A Classic Independent Practice Success Story
March 22, 2023

Southern Radiology Consultants (SRC)—a 25-radiologist practice based in Baton Rouge, LA—is a classic story of a well-run private practice that has succeeded by meeting every challenge and opportunity that crossed its path with excellent service and savvy business decisions. The group is one of Strategic Radiology’s newest members, electing to join in August 2022.

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Things That Go Bump in the Night: Tricky MSK Trauma
Things That Go Bump in the Night: Tricky MSK Trauma
March 21, 2023

Residents and seasoned radiologists lucky enough to attend the 2022 meeting of the RSNA were treated to a cringe-inducing selection of MSK, abdominal, chest, and cervical spine trauma cases, all with the potential to show up in the queue for those taking night call, during a Tuesday afternoon session titled, “On-Call Primer for Residents: Don’t Miss Diagnoses.”

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Min Lang, MD, MSc: In Search of a 3-Min MRI Stroke Protocol
Min Lang, MD, MSc: In Search of a 3-Min MRI Stroke Protocol
March 22, 2023

Min Lang, MD, MSc, was awarded the 2022 Strategic Radiology Arl Van Moore Jr. MD Research Resident Grant by the RSNA Research & Education Foundation (R&E) at the end of 2022. The grant provided Dr. Lang with $30,000 for one year to devote 50% of his time to a research project under the guidance of a scientific advisor. Dr. Lang, a radiology resident at Massachusetts General Hospital, will work to develop an ultrafast 3-minute MRI/MRA protocol for acute ischemic stroke evaluation using new rapid MR imaging techniques; a novel AI-assisted reconstruction technique that enhances image quality will occur in tandem. His goal is to improve timely diagnosis and treatment of acute ischemic stroke, and perhaps be implemented for other neuroimaging indications.

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Podcast: Talking SR and Practice Ownership with Scott A. Bundy, MD, FACR
Podcast: Talking SR and Practice Ownership with Scott A. Bundy, MD, FACR
November 9, 2022

In a podcast interview with The Radiology Report host Daniel Arnold, Scott A. Bundy, MD, FACR, Chair and CEO of Strategic Radiology (SR), discussed a wide range of topics, including current challenges facing radiologists, Strategic Radiology, independence, and the virtues of having an ownership mentality.

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Cyber Security Insurance— The New Importance of Good Cyber Hygiene
Cyber Security Insurance— The New Importance of Good Cyber Hygiene
November 8, 2022

Historically perceived as a relatively low risk and easy to secure line of coverage, recent developments in the global cyber threat environment have forced significant changes in the cyber liability insurance market, particularly in health care.

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Catawba Radiology Associates: NC Group at Crossroads Sizes Up with Strategic Radiology
Catawba Radiology Associates: NC Group at Crossroads Sizes Up with Strategic Radiology
November 8, 2022

New Strategic Radiology (SR) member group Catawba Radiology Associates (CRA) was founded 72 years ago to serve the picturesque town of Hickory, North Carolina, pop. 43,532, back when the town was a thriving furniture-making hub at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains. In the intervening years, the manufacturing industries in Hickory diversified to include fiber optics and the practice grew steadily to 18 subspecialized radiologists, still occupying offices that date back nearly to its founding.

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Working with a PSO: Benefits and Privileges
Working with a PSO: Benefits and Privileges
November 8, 2022

As quality focused health-care professionals, we share a commitment to making health-care safer and better for our patients. One of the common challenges to achieving this goal is the concern that patient safety information that you or your organization create as part of the care improvement process could also be used against you. 

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Spotlight on RAA: A Uniquely Southwestern Story of Growth and Innovation
Spotlight on RAA: A Uniquely Southwestern Story of Growth and Innovation
July 27, 2022

Earlier this year, Radiology Associates of Albuquerque, PA (RAA), the largest independent private practice radiology group in New Mexico with 38 radiologists, became a member of Strategic Radiology. RAA brings its unique Southwestern experience to the collective’s group DNA. Theirs is a success story that has tracked closely with its health system partner, marked by growth and collaboration in the service of patients.

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Spring Meeting: MIPS Value Pathways, Practical Aspects of AI...and Much More
Spring Meeting: MIPS Value Pathways, Practical Aspects of AI...and Much More
July 27, 2022

Strategic Radiology's 33 independent practices decamped to Charlotte for the spring Membership meeting, including 12.5 CME credits and talks that included AI in practice, transitioning to peer learning, and a witty and informed state of the union address. Here's a recap.

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Richard E. Sharpe, MD, MBA: Peer Learning—Why the Time Is Now
Richard E. Sharpe, MD, MBA: Peer Learning—Why the Time Is Now
July 27, 2022

In urging our member practices to get started on the transition from peer review to peer learning during Strategic Radiology’s Quality Forum in May, Richard E. Sharpe Jr, MD, MBA, chair, breast imaging, Mayo Clinic Arizona, had a list of the limitations of the typical peer review process:

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Elie Balesh, MD, Ferrum Health: Real World Use of Imaging AI
Elie Balesh, MD, Ferrum Health: Real World Use of Imaging AI
July 27, 2022

The first in a series of three presentations from Ferrum Health on the use of AI to impact population health, “AI in Oncology” provided Strategic Radiology members a provocative vision of a powerful new role for radiology in the health care enterprise from Elie Balesh, MD, private practice diagnostic and interventional radiologist and medical director of Ferrum Health.

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After 4-Year Growth Surge, 214-Radiologist ARS Returns to SR
After 4-Year Growth Surge, 214-Radiologist ARS Returns to SR
April 12, 2022

Advanced Radiology Services, Grand Rapids, MI, merged with four other private practices, added a new health system and eight individual client hospitals, and partnered an IR residency in the past four years.

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Why Own Your Practice: It's About Freedom
Why Own Your Practice: It's About Freedom
April 12, 2022

Practice ownership is a key point of differentiation between private practice and all other practice models in radiology. A panel of private practice radiologists, all members of Strategic Radiology, shared why they chose the practice model during a virtual happy hour for residents late last year and what they are doing to sustain that model.

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Investigating the Clinical and Operational Impact of POC MRI
Investigating the Clinical and Operational Impact of POC MRI
April 12, 2022

Edward Kuoy, MD, second-year attending neuroradiologist in the UC Irvine Medical Center (UCIMC) radiology department, knows first-hand the challenges associated with transporting ICU and ED patients to the radiology department for an MRI study. He will use the 2021 SR-RSNA R&D Foundation Research Grant to research point-of-care MRI.

 

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Failed 10-Year Quest for DIgital Image Exchange Elicits a Call to Action
Failed 10-Year Quest for DIgital Image Exchange Elicits a Call to Action
April 12, 2022

A group of seasoned imaging informatics veterans, fed up with years of relatively fruitless toil to achieve interinstitutional image exchange, called on health care providers to use their market power and contract only with image exchange vendors who commit to begin vendor-to-vendor image exchange by no later than 2024.

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Rome Radiology Group Shaves 36% Off Enterprise PACS Cost
Rome Radiology Group Shaves 36% Off Enterprise PACS Cost
December 16, 2021

As the primary provider of radiology services in Northwest Georgia, Rome Radiology Group (RRG) was faced with an existential challenge familiar to many small- to medium-size radiology groups—invest in an enterprise PACS to improve the quality and efficiency of the care it provided to disparate health systems or watch quality and efficiency degrade.

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Barbara Deppman, FACHE: Primed to Support and Execute
Barbara Deppman, FACHE: Primed to Support and Execute
December 15, 2021

When Barbara Deppman, RDMS, MSM, FACHE, assumed the role of Chief Operating Officer of Strategic Radiology (SR) on November 15, 2021, it represented the culmination of a successful career in health care administration that closely tracked radiology.

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Strategic Radiology and Thorn Run Partners Score a Win on First Advocacy Team Effort
Strategic Radiology and Thorn Run Partners Score a Win on First Advocacy Team Effort
December 15, 2021

Physicians beleaguered by the latest pandemic surge, a run-up in inflation, and a potential double-digit pay-cut breathed easier when Congress passed the “Protecting Medicare and American Farmers from Sequester Cuts Act” last week. Numerous physician organizations—including the ACR and RBMA—joined in the big tent effort to stop the cuts, but for Strategic Radiology and newly engaged lobbying firm Thorn Run Partners, it was their first dance on Capitol Hill.

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Psssst, Residents: One Thing We Would Have Done Differently
Psssst, Residents: One Thing We Would Have Done Differently
December 15, 2021

On September 9, 2021, a panel of early-career radiologists from four different Strategic Radiology member groups responded to questions from residents and fellows probing the topic, “First Year in Practice.” This article shares the responses of our panelists to the first question posed during a Resident & Fellow Virtual Happy Hour: What is the one thing you would you have done differently to make the first year better for yourself?

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The Coming Private Equity Surge: Why Our Patients Are at Risk
The Coming Private Equity Surge: Why Our Patients Are at Risk
June 15, 2021

A projected upsurge in private equity investment in health care will result in accelerated consolidation, reduced competition, and increased patient risk, according to a 70-page paper published in May by the Nicholas C. Petris Center on Health Care Markets, UC Berkley Shool of Public Health, and the American Antitrust Institute (AAI), “Soaring Private Equity Investment in the Healthcare Sector: Consolidation Accelerated, Competition Undermined, and Patients at Risk.”

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Private Practice Sustainability: Straight Talk on Size and Nature
Private Practice Sustainability: Straight Talk on Size and Nature
June 15, 2021

In an opinion piece that deliberates on changes in private practice over time as they relate to sustainability in the June issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology, authors Frank Lexa, MD, MBA, and Lauren Golding, MD (who practices with Strategic Radiology member group Triad Radiology in Winston-Salem, NC), begin with size: in 1989, close to half of all radiology practices were composed of two to four radiologists and only 14% had 11 or more; in 2014, just 3.2% of practices had one or two members and 15.7% had more than 100 radiologists.

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RadVox™: Taking a Trusted Patient Satisfaction Tool to New Places
RadVox™: Taking a Trusted Patient Satisfaction Tool to New Places
June 15, 2021

Strategic Radiology (SR)’s proprietary patient satisfaction survey tool, RadVox™, marks its fourth year of service to SR member groups this year by helping members survey new markets, including hospital-based imaging center patients and MRI research site subjects.

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Radiology Private Practice Survival Guide: JACR
Radiology Private Practice Survival Guide: JACR
June 15, 2021

A team of radiologists from Wichita Radiological Group and Michigan State University College of Medicine laid out a thoughtful series of strengths, opportunities, and threats associated with private practice radiology in a paper published in the June issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology. In doing so, they provided a compelling apologia for the private practice model itself.

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Expanded Lung Cancer Screening Criteria to Challenge Rads, PCPs, Hospitals to Save More Lives
Expanded Lung Cancer Screening Criteria to Challenge Rads, PCPs, Hospitals to Save More Lives
April 6, 2021

While 2020 will be recalled as the year a rogue virus brought the world economy to its knees, the lung cancer screening community will remember it as a year of deliberation by the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) on whether to expand low-dose CT (LDCT) lung cancer screening (LCS) to include adults aged 50—down from 55—to 80 years of age with at least 20—down from 30—pack-years as recommended by the Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network (CISNET) Lung Cancer Working Group Technical Report.

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Researching Methods of Communicating Incidental Findings Yields RadReach™ Program
Researching Methods of Communicating Incidental Findings Yields RadReach™ Program
April 6, 2021

During the past two years, six Strategic Radiology (SR) member groups explored methods of directly communicating incidental findings (IF) on studies acquired in the emergency department (ED) to patients and their primary care physicians. The project began when Strategic Radiology was named one of 12 recipients of a Coverys Community Healthcare Foundation (CCHF) grant at the end of 2018, with the objective of developing a low-cost program that could be rolled out across the United States.

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PE-owned Health Care and Dividend Recapitalizations: Borrowing from Peter to Pay Oneself
PE-owned Health Care and Dividend Recapitalizations: Borrowing from Peter to Pay Oneself
April 6, 2021

The huge influx of federal stimulus funds into health care offered a rare window into the use by private equity of dividend recapitalization, a transaction in which private equity firms add debt to their portfolio companies’ balance sheets to finance fees and dividends for themselves without having to substantively improve operations.

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Lessons Learned in the Transition from Peer Review to Peer Learning
Lessons Learned in the Transition from Peer Review to Peer Learning
April 6, 2021

A team from the Einstein Health System saw participation soar when it transitioned from a peer review to a peer improvement process implemented across a network that included an academic tertiary care center, two community hospitals, and multiple outpatient sites. That success in itself yielded some unintended consequences that were addressed in further iterations, according to a helpful article from Lee et al that appeared in the Journal of the American College of Radiology, “Transitioning to Peer Learning: Lessons Learned.”

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Scott Bundy, MD, FACR, to Lead SR as CEO and Chair
Scott Bundy, MD, FACR, to Lead SR as CEO and Chair
January 14, 2021

Scott A. Bundy, MD, FACR, was selected as CEO of the Strategic Radiology (SR) coalition, succeeding longtime leader A. Van Moore Jr, MD, FACR. He also will serve as Chair of the SR Executive Committee (EC), responsible for crafting and implementing policy that is approved by the governing Board of Managers.

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SR Inks Deal with Intelerad for Volume Discounts on PACS, Worklist
SR Inks Deal with Intelerad for Volume Discounts on PACS, Worklist
January 14, 2021

Strategic Radiology (SR) has finalized an agreement with Intelerad, Montreal Canada, to provide the components of a virtual reading platform—PACS, worklist, voice recognition—to members at volume discounts negotiated on behalf of the coalition’s independent practice member groups. The agreement unlocks potential savings for every member regardless of their size and technical configurations through leverage of SR’s collective scale.

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Appropriate Use Criteria and PAMA: Target Your Approach or Risk Failure
Appropriate Use Criteria and PAMA: Target Your Approach or Risk Failure
January 14, 2021

Three radiologists and one emergency medicine physician shared tips, caveats, and lessons learned in the implementation of appropriate use criteria (AUC) during a timely session at the 2020 virtual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, “Decision Support and the Implications for Federal Regulation (PAMA).”

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Artificial Intelligence: Would You Fly in a Plane with No Pilot?
Artificial Intelligence: Would You Fly in a Plane with No Pilot?
January 14, 2021

When that question was posed several years ago, some of you may have been in the audience at the RSNA along with Neville Irani, MD, associate professor of radiology at Kansas University Medical Center, and a member of the ACR Informatics Commission. You may even have been one of the audience members who raised their hand.

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Independence & the Radiologist: Why Own Your Practice?
Independence & the Radiologist: Why Own Your Practice?
October 7, 2020

If you are looking for evidence that the private practice model of radiology is sustainable long-term, look no further: five private practice radiologists made an open-and-shut case for practice ownership as they responded to questions submitted by early-career radiologists at Strategic Radiology's recent Virtual Happy Hour—Independence and the Radiologist: Why Own Your Practice.

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Triad Radiology Associates: A North Carolina Practice Looks Ahead with Optimism
Triad Radiology Associates: A North Carolina Practice Looks Ahead with Optimism
October 19, 2020

While Strategic Radiology’s newest member group already has a half century under its belt, the 50-radiologist Triad Radiology Associates (TRA), Winston-Salem, NC, has a young leader, a youthful demographic, and a hallmark practice of making sure newcomers get a committee position. That was the beginning of the path Andrew Deibler, MD, took to become president and CEO of TRA at 42 years old on January 2019.

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UCSD Resident Awarded SR-RSNA R&E Grant to Improve HCC Surveillance
UCSD Resident Awarded SR-RSNA R&E Grant to Improve HCC Surveillance
October 7, 2020

Judith An, MD, was awarded the Strategic Radiology–RSNA R&E Seed Grant to investigate the use of electronic alerts to improve compliance with imaging-based HCC surveillance in high-risk patients.

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Frank Lexa, MD, MBA, on Team Building: A Project Management Approach
Frank Lexa, MD, MBA, on Team Building: A Project Management Approach
October 7, 2020

Back before the globe shut down on a balmy January weekend in La Jolla, Calif., radiology practice leaders gathered for the annual ACR–RBMA Practice Leaders Forum to explore subjects that ranged from physician burnout to adventures in clinical decision support implementation. One of the weekend treats was a session on Team Leadership featuring Frank Lexa, MD, MBA, FACR, professor, department of medical imaging, University of Arizona College of Medicine and CMO, The Radiology Leadership Institute.

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Christopher J. Roth, MD: I Almost Got Fired as the Enterprise IT Doc
Christopher J. Roth, MD: I Almost Got Fired as the Enterprise IT Doc
October 7, 2020

Christopher J. Roth, MD, MMCI, was one of six courageous physician imaging informaticists who shared lessons learned during “Radiology Informatics Mistakes and War Stories from the Front Lines,” an RSNA 2019 session moderated by Peter Sachs, MD, a diagnostic and interventional radiologist at the University of Colorado Hospital, Denver, CO. Dr. Roth's tale featured the hubris of youth—apparently so common that it has been labeled the Icarus Syndrome.  

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Covid-19 and the Radiology Practice: Sudden Pain, Swift Interventions
Covid-19 and the Radiology Practice: Sudden Pain, Swift Interventions
July 29, 2020

If you are wondering whether other radiology practices experienced the precipitous volume declines that yours did, an article in press at the Journal of the American College of Radiology suggests the affirmative for practices operating in both the academic and private practice settings.

 

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Building an Effective Practice Team: The Administrator’s Role
Building an Effective Practice Team: The Administrator’s Role
July 29, 2020

For decades, Alicia Vasquez, CRA, FRBMA, has served as the administrative leader of The Hill Medical Corp., Pasadena, Calif., a founding member of Strategic Radiology. Her half of a Team Building session at the ACR–RBMA Practice Leaders Forum was a virtual master class for radiology practice leaders who serve in the administrator role, beginning with a clear-eyed assessment of the current health-care practice environment and ending with a mandate to become the change agent your practice needs.

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Radiology Associates of Richmond:  Protecting a Legacy That Reaches Back to Roentgen
Radiology Associates of Richmond: Protecting a Legacy That Reaches Back to Roentgen
July 29, 2020

One would think that leading an organization with 115 years of history carries extra weight, but Ray Beauchamp, MD, president of Radiology Associates of Richmond (RAR), dismisses that notion: “Everybody has the same pressures of adapting to the changing world and keeping your practice at the forefront and solvent.” 

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Spectacular IT Failures: Hope Is Not a Downtime Solution
Spectacular IT Failures: Hope Is Not a Downtime Solution
July 30, 2020

James Whitfill, MD, is chief transformation officer at HonorHealth, Scottsdale, Ariz and past-president of SIIM. The former CIO of a large, private radiology practice in the Southwest confessed that his least proud moment in IT yielded a treasure trove of lessons during a unique and valuable 2019 RSNA session, “Radiology Informatics Mistakes and War Stories from the Front Lines,” moderated by Peter Sachs, MD, a diagnostic and interventional radiologist at the University of Colorado Hospital, Denver, CO.

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Chesapeake Medical Imaging: Meet SR’s First All-Outpatient Radiology Practice
Chesapeake Medical Imaging: Meet SR’s First All-Outpatient Radiology Practice
May 27, 2020

Chesapeake Medical Imaging is a product of the 21st century, founded in 2001 by Mark Baganz, MD, a radiologist and refugee from academic medicine who craved a deeper connection with the patient. CMI joined Strategic Radiology earlier this year, also becoming its first Maryland-based practice.

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Georgia Radiologist Joins Mayo Clinic Network to Investigate Covid-19 Treatment
Georgia Radiologist Joins Mayo Clinic Network to Investigate Covid-19 Treatment
May 27, 2020

Matthew McClain, MD, a radiologist with Rome Radiology in Northwest Georgia, did not envision becoming a local principle investigator in a national trial led by the Mayo Clinic to investigate the use of convalescent plasma therapy for Covid-19 patients when he noted the first outbreak in China in January.

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Spectacular IT Failures: System Upgrades Can Be Downgrades
Spectacular IT Failures: System Upgrades Can Be Downgrades
May 27, 2020

Safwan Halabi, MD, radiologist and imaging informaticist at Stanford University, recently went through a PACS upgrade that brought the system down. Providentially, he made one fortuitous decision that limited downtime.

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Re-Engaging Non-Covid-19-Related Outpatient Imaging—Safely
Re-Engaging Non-Covid-19-Related Outpatient Imaging—Safely
May 27, 2020

The Covid-19 pandemic appears to have decimated outpatient imaging volumes. With communities across the U.S. in various stages of re-opening for business, Strategic Radiology (SR) member practices with outpatient assets are beginning to carefully and mindfully take steps to resume non–Covid-related imaging of patients.

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EvergreenHealth: Continual Change at Front of Frontlines
EvergreenHealth: Continual Change at Front of Frontlines
April 7, 2020

For Aileen Mickey, MD, FCCP, chief medical officer and pulmonologist, EvergreenHealth Medical Group, Kirkland, Wash., a key challenge in managing response to one of the initial outbreaks of the novel coronavirus in the U.S. was navigating constant change.

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A Chest Radiologist’s Experience: The Angry Face of Covid-19
A Chest Radiologist’s Experience: The Angry Face of Covid-19
April 7, 2020

Judith K. Amorosa, MD, FACR, is clinical professor of radiology, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and a thoracic radiologist with University Radiology Group in New Brunswick, NJ, which is currently feeling a storm of community spread. In her portion of the Covera Health webinar, “Managing Covid-19 on the Front Lines,” she described the radiological features of coronavirus onset over time, providing context for advisories and consensus statements from ACR, Society of Thoracic Radiology, and RSNA, stating that chest CT is non-specific for screening or diagnosing Covid-19.

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The Practice President: ‘It Still Feels Like We Are in the Fog of War’
The Practice President: ‘It Still Feels Like We Are in the Fog of War’
April 7, 2020

On the state of New Jersey’s map of coronavirus infections, University Radiology Group’s (URG) service area overlaps precisely the hardest hit counties. During his segment of the Covera Health webinar on March 26, “Managing Covid-19 on the Front Lines,”Sandip Basak, MD, president, University Radiology Group, offered a chilling account of a busy, thriving practice serving multiple hospitals and imaging centers devolving into a skeleton crew intent on protecting patients, employees, shareholders, and locations during the Covid-19 siege.

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Managing Your New Remote Workforce
Managing Your New Remote Workforce
April 7, 2020

All of the sudden, your employees are working from home—how do you manage them? The Harvard Business Review published a timely series of articles meant to help us all navigate the virtual workspace. Here are the highlights.

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Essential Covid-19 Resources
Essential Covid-19 Resources
April 7, 2020

Ever since Covid-19 hit U.S. shores, a tsunami of content hits inboxes on a daily basis. We have collected a short list of links to mission-critical content gathered by Strategic Radiology members and staff, ranging from clinical consensus statements to Treasury Department resources for the Paycheck Protection Program. (Thank you, Team SR—keep those links, PDFs, and other resources coming!) One of our favorites is a link to a video from a pulmonologist at Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City, offering reassurance, hope, and advice on how to protect and empower your family.

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From Peer Review to Peer Learning: A Wish List
From Peer Review to Peer Learning: A Wish List
January 29, 2020

Results of a national survey of radiologists that aims to assess improvement opportunities for current peer review systems was published online in advance of the March issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.  The article arrives at an opportune time for Strategic Radiology practices as the coalition embarks on a Peer Learning collaborative pilot program.

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Spectacular Imaging IT Failures—and the Lessons They Impart: Part I
Spectacular Imaging IT Failures—and the Lessons They Impart: Part I
January 29, 2020

Delivering a talk on a successful initiative or research project at the annual RSNA is an act of generosity but getting up and sharing one’s failures takes courage. Six courageous—and generous—physician imaging informaticists shared lessons learned in a valuable and unique session that was by turns hilarious and painful, “Radiology Informatics Mistakes and War Stories from the Front Lines,” moderated by Peter Sachs, MD, a diagnostic radiologist and imaging informaticist at the University of Colorado Hospital, Aurora, CO. 

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University of Utah: Price Transparency and the Case for Sharing Cost and Quality Information
University of Utah: Price Transparency and the Case for Sharing Cost and Quality Information
January 29, 2020

A University of Utah survey of 5,000 patients, 600 physicians, and 500 employers identified affordable out-of-pocket cost as what they value most when accessing health care. Yet knowing the cost of care in advance from any given provider requires a great deal of effort.

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Marketing Radiology Services: Do It, Says MGH
Marketing Radiology Services: Do It, Says MGH
January 29, 2020

An article detailing Massachusetts General Radiology Department’s experience in marketing radiology services provides valuable insight into how an entrepreneurial, hospital-based private practice evolved its marketing strategy with a changing market. It is likely to make a marketer out of you, if you aren’t already.

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Workflow-driven AI: Introducing the Automated Impression
Workflow-driven AI: Introducing the Automated Impression
November 20, 2019

Jeffrey Chang, MD, MBA—co-founder of Rad AI, a machine learning start-up based in Berkeley, CA, and a private practice radiologist—has an explanation for why there are dozens of FDA-cleared AI applications that most radiologists are not using: for the most part, they impede, rather than improve, workflow. Chang, who graduated from medical school at age 20, gave members of Strategic Radiology a 40-minute demonstration of Rad AI’s first product for the radiology marketplace, an application that automatically generates an Impression from a radiologist’s Findings and Indications.

 

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RCO Summit: Collaboration in Action (in Person)
RCO Summit: Collaboration in Action (in Person)
November 20, 2019

Thirty-four Strategic Radiology revenue cycle employees gathered in Atlanta in early November for three days of education, collaboration, and revenue cycle optimization. Eighteen of SR’s 27 practices were represented, including many first-time attendees of SR events. It was an experiment that will likely become an annual ritual.

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OIG Report: Hospitals Value PSO Participation, But Data Aggregation Lags
OIG Report: Hospitals Value PSO Participation, But Data Aggregation Lags
November 20, 2019

A report on the value, challenges, and prevalence of PSO participation among acute care hospitals issued by the Office of Inspector General in September reveals that virtually all hospitals that reported participating in a PSO value the relationship, with 63% saying that PSO participation has made a measurable difference in the quality of their care. 

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Don’t Get Bushwhacked: 10 Ways to Assess Whether a Practice Will Remain Independent
Don’t Get Bushwhacked: 10 Ways to Assess Whether a Practice Will Remain Independent
November 1, 2019

As radiologists-in-training emerge from residency to interview for partnership-track positions with private practices, they are burdened with a relatively new concern: What are the chances that the practice they are interviewing with will sell their radiology group to a corporate entity? Unfortunately, this is a legitimate concern.

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It’s About Freedom: Why I Chose Private Practice
It’s About Freedom: Why I Chose Private Practice
October 3, 2019

After completing his radiology residency and neuroradiology fellowship at Emory University, Ivan DeQuesada, MD, left Atlanta in 2016 and headed southwest to join one of the nation’s largest private radiology practices, Radiology Associates of North Texas, in Fort Worth, Texas. It was not a choice he made lightly.

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Independent Radiology Is Good for Your Health—and Our Specialty
Independent Radiology Is Good for Your Health—and Our Specialty
September 17, 2019

By Arl Van Moore Jr, MD, FACR

I’m sometimes asked by academic radiologists, residents, and even private practice colleagues why I believe that a vibrant specialty needs a healthy, independent private practice model. I’ve had quite a while to think about this in various leadership roles, so in the interest of brevity, I’ll focus on three of the reasons that have the greatest implications for personal fulfillment.

 

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Corporatization in Radiology: Interesting Facts, Troubling Issues
Corporatization in Radiology: Interesting Facts, Troubling Issues
September 17, 2019

The hotly anticipated white paper from the ACR Corporatization Task Force (CTF), recently published online by Journal of the American College of Radiology, reports on the current status of corporatization in radiology and its potential to impact patients, radiology, and radiologists.

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Incidental Findings in the ED—Another Whopping Award, Another Failure to Communicate
Incidental Findings in the ED—Another Whopping Award, Another Failure to Communicate
September 17, 2019

In an all-too-familiar scenario, the patient entered the ED with pain and urinary problems, the emergency physician ordered a CT, and the radiologist issued a report identifying kidney stones, and, incidentally, a rounded area of high density in the bladder that warranted follow-up. 

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CMS Issues Guidance for Putting on AUC Training Wheels in 2020
CMS Issues Guidance for Putting on AUC Training Wheels in 2020
September 16, 2019

A recent communication issued by CMS in July provided some all-important billing guidance for radiology practices and others that intend to use the Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC) program test year for exactly that—to test the mechanics of implementing AUC in 2020, before penalties begin in 2021.

 

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Radiology and Independence in a Consolidating World
Radiology and Independence in a Consolidating World
June 26, 2019

While most would agree that radiology practices are undergoing consolidation, many questions remain regarding its extent and its effects, resulting in hype, hyperbole, and not a small amount of uneasiness throughout the specialty. In an attempt to bring some order to the subject, Randal Roat, FRBMA, Strategic Radiology COO, reviewed the landscape, tallied up the available numbers, and attempted to assess whether consolidation had delivered on its objectives in “Radiology and Independence in a Consolidating World,” a talk presented at the RBMA Paradigm meeting on April 15 in Colorado Springs.

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The PAMA Mandate—Radiology Gears Up for CDS in 2020
The PAMA Mandate—Radiology Gears Up for CDS in 2020
June 26, 2019

Radiology practices across the country can no longer bet that CMS will delay the mandate to consult appropriate use criteria (AUC) scheduled to commence in 2020—but that did not stop the American Medical Association (AMA) from passing a resolution at its annual meeting in Chicago requesting yet another delay in implementation. According to Strategic Radiology chair and CEO Arl Van Moore Jr, MD, FACR, the resolution is likely a shout into the wind, as turning back the clock yet again would require new legislation to reconcile the differences in PAMA (enacted 2014) and MACRA (enacted 2015). Dr Moore is chair of the ACR delegation to the AMA.

 

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Adept at Alignment, Mecklenburg Radiology Associates Chooses SR
Adept at Alignment, Mecklenburg Radiology Associates Chooses SR
June 26, 2019

North Carolina’s oldest radiology practice dates back to the First World War and in one respect, says Mecklenburg Radiology Associates (MRA) president James C. Johnson, MD, the practice remains single-minded in a business strategy that has served it well. “From its early beginnings, the practice has employed an approach of being aligned with our health system partners,” Johnson says. “We think it is important to be as engaged as possible with our health system partners.”

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RadIQ™ Data Infusion Raises SR Business Intelligence
RadIQ™ Data Infusion Raises SR Business Intelligence
June 26, 2019

If you heard corks popping, that was the Strategic Radiology (SR) revenue cycle and data analytics team cheering completion of Phase 2 of the reconfigured revenue cycle database. The team celebrated the transition from charge data to transactional data with a webinar to show members around the enhanced reporting capabilities of SR’s new RadIQ™ business intelligence (BI) tools.

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On Leading: Geoffrey Rubin MD Interviews A. Van Moore Jr MD
On Leading: Geoffrey Rubin MD Interviews A. Van Moore Jr MD
April 22, 2019

The latest segment in the Radiology Leadership Institute (RLI) podcast series will be a treat for Strategic Radiology members as the interview subject is our CEO and Chair, Arl Van Moore Jr, MD, FACR. In this episode—the eighth in a compelling series of interviews with prominent leaders in radiology by RLI board member Geoffrey Rubin, MD, FACR—Moore shares a bit about his early years, leadership path, current tenure with SR, and passion for independent radiology. Below are highlights of the 1.5-hour interview.

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Asheville Radiology Associates: Foot in the Past, Eye on the Future
Asheville Radiology Associates: Foot in the Past, Eye on the Future
April 22, 2019

Few practices these days can claim a pedigree that reaches back to the Great Generation, but Strategic Radiology’s newest practice, 44-member Asheville Radiology Associates, is one of them. Located in North Carolina’s western Blue Ridge Mountains in Asheville, county seat of Buncombe County, the practice was founded by three radiologists in 1944.

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CDS: Practical Lessons Learned—and Dirty Laundry
CDS: Practical Lessons Learned—and Dirty Laundry
April 22, 2019

Taking the podium mid-stream during a series of talks on AI at the annual meeting of the California Radiological Society in February, Greg Mogel, MD, was mock-apologetic about interjecting a dose of cold reality into radiology’s topic du jour. Yet the timeliness of his talk on implementing order-entry radiology clinical decision support could not have been better. With CDS on the docket for a test year in 2020, the day of reckoning is near, barring any further delays. Furthermore—as you will read—he sees a very real and pressing role for AI in future iterations of CDS.

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JACR: Practice Size Increases,  No. of Groups Declines
JACR: Practice Size Increases, No. of Groups Declines
April 22, 2019

Ever wonder how many radiology practices there are, what their size is, and how much consolidation has occurred in recent years? All of those questions are addressed in a fruitful effort by Rosenkrantz et al published online in the Journal of the American College of Radiology.

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TMIST Wants You—to Help Improve Breast Cancer Screening
TMIST Wants You—to Help Improve Breast Cancer Screening
February 20, 2019

TMIST—the first randomized controlled trial (RCT) to identify patients for whom breast tomosynthesis bests digital mammography (DM) in reducing the development of advanced breast cancer—is now underway and accruing patients.

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SR Awarded $282K Grant to Improve Communication of Incidental Findings in ED Setting
SR Awarded $282K Grant to Improve Communication of Incidental Findings in ED Setting
February 20, 2019

In a historic first for the coalition, Strategic Radiology was awarded a $282,000 grant from the Coverys Community Healthcare Foundation (CCHF) to research methods to ensure that patients are aware of incidental findings identified in imaging exams acquired in the ED, a setting fraught with communication challenges.

 

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Q & A with W. Kent Hansen, MD: SR’s Newest Executive Committee Member
Q & A with W. Kent Hansen, MD: SR’s Newest Executive Committee Member
February 20, 2019

As president of a 55-radiologist practice that covers 24 hospitals and operates two busy outpatient imaging centers, W. Kent Hansen, MD, has a full plate that just got fuller—he answered the call affirmatively to serve as newly elected member-at-large on Strategic Radiology’s Executive Committee (EC).

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Radiology Associates of Appleton: Where Shared Leadership Is a Core Value
Radiology Associates of Appleton: Where Shared Leadership Is a Core Value
February 20, 2019

Radiology Associates of Appleton, a 24-physician practice based in Appleton, Wis., joined the Strategic Radiology coalition of independent practices in November 2018, bringing with it the strong commitment to excellence and service to communities in Wisconsin’s Fox River Valley since 1968.

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Q & A with Sina Tavakoli, MD, Inaugural Recipient of the SR–RSNA Research Seed Grant
Q & A with Sina Tavakoli, MD, Inaugural Recipient of the SR–RSNA Research Seed Grant
December 19, 2018

Shortly before its 2018 annual meeting, the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) announced that Sina Tavakoli, MD, had been awarded the inaugural Strategic Radiology-RSNA Research Seed Grant. Dr. Tavakoli will use the $40,000 grant to investigate the role of quantitative 18F-fluoroglutamine PET in non-invasive metabolic imaging of macrophages in atherosclerosis. His attempt to characterize the immunometabolic features of atherosclerotic lesions could eventually lead to the more accurate identification of vulnerable plaques.

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100% of SR Practices Receive Positive 2017 CMS QPP Update
100% of SR Practices Receive Positive 2017 CMS QPP Update
December 19, 2018

Strategic Radiology practices performed well in the first year of the CMS Quality Payment Program—100% of the SR practices that submitted data (representing 19 TINS) received a positive update, and 95% achieved the exceptional bonus. That compares well with the broader universe of participating practices, of which 93% achieved positive updates, 71% achieved the exceptional bonus, 2% achieved a neutral adjustment, and 5% received a negative update.

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Cancer Radiologist Shares On-the-Job Machine Learning Lessons Learned
Cancer Radiologist Shares On-the-Job Machine Learning Lessons Learned
December 19, 2018

Andrea G. Rockall, MRCP, FRCR, had never heard of machine learning when she arrived at Imperial College of London in 2012. A working radiologist and researcher with interests in genitourinary cancer, image-based trials, and functional imaging and response assessment, she was asked to develop several machine learning trials. 

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Naugatuck Valley Radiological Associates: Committed to Meeting Community Needs
Naugatuck Valley Radiological Associates: Committed to Meeting Community Needs
December 19, 2018

Naugatuck Valley Radiological Associates (NVRA), one of Strategic Radiology’s newest affiliate practices, has excelled at meeting the needs of the Waterbury, CT, community for 30 years. It has forged a tight relationship with St. Mary’s Hospital, founded in 1909 by the Sisters of Chamber and now a Level II trauma center. NVRA operates four outpatient imaging centers in the community—including two joint ventures with the hospital.

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Leadership Lessons from the Military: Build Effective Teams or Surrender
Leadership Lessons from the Military: Build Effective Teams or Surrender
October 31, 2018

A commanding presence in radiology for many years, Arl Van Moore Jr, MD, FACR, FSIR, Strategic Radiology (SR) CEO, reached into his former Navy life—training and serving as an officer in the nuclear submarine service—to share leadership lessons from the military during SR’s Executive Education event in Fort Worth in September.

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Fee for Service: Payment Fundamentals, Trends, and Troubles
Fee for Service: Payment Fundamentals, Trends, and Troubles
October 31, 2018

Kurt Schoppe, MD, talks about reimbursement the way others dissect a novel or an episode of a favorite TV show: players, motives, plot points, unintended consequences.  The ACR advisor to AMA’s RVU Update Committee (RUC) held attendees rapt at Strategic Radiology’s Executive Education event in Fort Worth in September as he delivered the first of three short talks that linked payment policy with relationship building and strategies to deal with the reimbursement uncertainty ahead.

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Artificial Intelligence: Inside the ACR’s Plan for Incubating New Radiologist Tools
Artificial Intelligence: Inside the ACR’s Plan for Incubating New Radiologist Tools
October 31, 2018

As the hype behind artificial intelligence (AI) is replaced with a recognition of the barriers to adoption, radiologists increasingly are intrigued with AI’s potential to expedite, augment, and generally improve their ability to interpret medical images. To that end—and presumably to pre-empt a Wild West scenario—the ACR has created an AI framework for developers that would ensure that the tools created are reliable, useful, diverse, and pose no threat to patients.

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United Imaging Consultants: On a Steady Path to Higher Value
United Imaging Consultants: On a Steady Path to Higher Value
September 12, 2018

United Imaging Consultants (UIC), based in the Kansas City suburb of Mission, Kan., grew out of a four-way merger in 2000 and the recognition that busier nights and the rise of subspecialization in radiology required scaling up in size. The practice has followed a steady path to delivering greater value to its hospital partners ever since.

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SR Recruits RCM Pro to Lead Revenue Cycle Optimization
SR Recruits RCM Pro to Lead Revenue Cycle Optimization
September 12, 2018

Sharon Fremer, Strategic Radiology’s new vice president, revenue cycle optimization, is on a heat-seeking mission for results. Fresh from her first session with business analytics director Dave Polmanteer, she is preparing to bring 30 years of experience in revenue cycle to bear on improving member practice finances.

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Consolidation in Radiology 2.0—Look Before You Leap
Consolidation in Radiology 2.0—Look Before You Leap
September 12, 2018

By Wayne K. Baldwin

In a prior life, I was General Counsel and Chief Development Officer for Comprehensive Medical Imaging, a consolidator of outpatient imaging centers across the country. It is interesting to me that consolidation has again become in vogue.

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Are Reading Room Interruptions Taking a Toll on Accuracy and Efficiency?
Are Reading Room Interruptions Taking a Toll on Accuracy and Efficiency?
September 12, 2018

Ever wonder or worry about the toll reading room interruptions could have on the accuracy and/or efficiency of your personal practice?  A group of researchers that included Booth Aldred, MD, from SR member practice Austin Radiological Association, looked into those question and published their results in a recent issue of the Journal of Medical Imaging. Their research could improve reading room protocols in the future.

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Back to School: September Brings Multiple Fall Executive Education Opportunities
Back to School: September Brings Multiple Fall Executive Education Opportunities
August 1, 2018

With the annual fall back-to-school ritual just a month away, September brings multiple, rich leadership education opportunities in radiology—the Radiology Leadership Institute (RLI) Leadership Summit in Wellesley, Mass, Strategic Radiology’s (SR) Executive Education Program, and SR’s bi-annual SR Quality Forum in Dallas-Fort Worth. “Radiology is facing many challenges right now,” said Arl Van Moore Jr, MD, FACR, chair and CEO, Strategic Radiology. “How do we preserve what we prize most about our profession—the ability to innovate, the willingness to seek better tools and techniques to improve the care for our patients and keep them first—yet improve the value our nation gets from our sector? New approaches will be necessary, and we need to initiate leadership education for the next generation of leaders earlier in their training.”

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DeepLesion: NIH Releases Massive CT Database Used to Create Universal Lesion Detector
DeepLesion: NIH Releases Massive CT Database Used to Create Universal Lesion Detector
August 1, 2018

In July, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center released DeepLesion to the scientific community, a massive dataset that contains 32,735 lesions in 32,120 CT slices from 10,594 studies of 4,427 unique patients.  Its stated purpose was to help the scientific community improve detection accuracy of lesions.

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The 3 Biggest Compliance Mistakes Private Practices Make
The 3 Biggest Compliance Mistakes Private Practices Make
August 1, 2018

By John Outlaw, CHC, CHBME

When I started my career in health care compliance nearly 15 years ago, compliance programs were just beginning to take hold outside of hospital systems and were a largely foreign concept for physician practices. Back then, they were strictly voluntary, but today compliance programs are a mandatory condition of participation in Medicare as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA). At the same time, we have experienced tremendous expansion of government oversight of the health care industry that has dramatically increased risk for physician practices.

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CMS Holds Line on CDS Deadline, Includes Outpatient Imaging Sites, Extends Site-neutral Pay
CMS Holds Line on CDS Deadline, Includes Outpatient Imaging Sites, Extends Site-neutral Pay
August 1, 2018

Providers that have stood on the clinical decision support (CDS) sidelines as the implementation deadline approaches received a strong signal that CMS intends to stand firm on the requirement to implement appropriate use criteria (AUC) and CDS with the July 12 publication of the proposed 2019 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS).

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SIIM Board Chair Jim Whitfill, MD: Talking AI, Blockchain, and a Less Sexy Topic
SIIM Board Chair Jim Whitfill, MD: Talking AI, Blockchain, and a Less Sexy Topic
July 5, 2018

Strategic Radiology’s CIO Jim Whitfill, MD, was recently installed as chair of the board of directors for the Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine (SIIM). Whitfill, a clinically trained internal medicine physician, entered radiology by way of an informatics fellowship undertaken in the late 1990s, after which he took a position as CIO with a large radiology practice in the Southwest.

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X-Ray Consultants: Progressive and Proactive
X-Ray Consultants: Progressive and Proactive
July 5, 2018

The 19 physicians of X-Ray Consultants (XRC)—Strategic Radiology’s newest affiliate practice based in South Bend, Indiana—have had a ringside seat on the consolidation that is reshaping the hospital landscape.  The group goes back to the 1940s, when one of its founders Wallace Buchanan, MD, served as president of the American College of Radiology.  In the early ’60s the practice became known as Lockhart & Beach until its incorporation as X-Ray Consultants in 1979.

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Park City, Utah: June Membership and Board of Managers Meeting
Park City, Utah: June Membership and Board of Managers Meeting
July 5, 2018

The Strategic Radiology (SR) June Meeting returned to the idyllic mountain setting of Park City, Utah, last month to take care of coalition business and update member practices and the board of managers on progress toward the strategic plan and objectives of the coalition. Long days in meeting rooms ended in networking opportunities over the dinner table—establishing the trust and collegiality necessary to build a functional team requires interpersonal interaction and face time with all team members.

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On the Podium, in the Winner’s Circle: SR Practices Show Up at RBMA Spark Conference
On the Podium, in the Winner’s Circle: SR Practices Show Up at RBMA Spark Conference
July 3, 2018

A dozen marketing directors responsible for marketing individual Strategic Radiology practices gathered in Nashville in June for their annual meeting prior to the RBMA Spark marketing conference—as usual, the three hours allotted flew by too fast. It was a great start to a conference that brought a number of marketing directors to the podium to both share their knowledge and collect awards. Content takeaway? We're all a little bit millennial.

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Robert Epstein, MD, William Keyes, MD,  Honored with ACR Fellow Degree
Robert Epstein, MD, William Keyes, MD, Honored with ACR Fellow Degree
May 31, 2018

No honor is sweeter than recognition by one’s peers, and that is precisely what happened in late May when Robert Epstein, MD, FACR, and William Keyes, MD, FACR, became fellows of the American College of Radiology during the annual meeting. Fellowship is an honor received by a slim 10% of radiologists and granted based on a radiologist’s contributions to the College, organized radiology, teaching, and/or research. The list of past recipients includes many luminary names, including SR CEO and chair Arl Van Moore, MD, FACR.

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Bradley J. Bohnert, MD: Parsing the Subspecialties
Bradley J. Bohnert, MD: Parsing the Subspecialties
May 31, 2018

When neuroradiologist Bradley J. Bohnert, MD, MBA, isn’t describing brain tumors, measuring carotid stenosis, or interpreting spinal MRI studies, he wrestles with practice staffing issues and other management functions as CEO of Radiology Ltd., a Strategic Radiology (SR) member practice in Tucson, Arizona.  He also found the time to map nearly 1000 radiology CPT codes to their appropriate subspecialties as part of SR’s broader effort to aggregate and organize data for clinical benchmarking and business intelligence purposes. In its infancy, the subspecialty mapping project is the first step in an endeavor that Dr. Bohnert hopes will demonstrate the value of radiology subspecialization.

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Tower Imaging Medical Group: Excellence, Entrepreneurship, and an Academic Flavor
Tower Imaging Medical Group: Excellence, Entrepreneurship, and an Academic Flavor
May 31, 2018

Over the years, Strategic Radiology's newest affiliate practice Tower Imaging Medical Group (TIMG) has earned a place in the firmament of Los Angeles-based radiology practices, with a complex practice genealogy that blends entrepreneurship with an academic flair. It serves two prestigious hospitals—Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica and Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital in Valencia—and in joining the Strategic Radiology coalition, the highly subspecialized but relatively small 17-radiologist practice found a beachhead in the rapidly consolidating Los Angeles market.

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Diana Stillwell, MHSA, CNMT and CPHQ: Journey to Quality Certification
Diana Stillwell, MHSA, CNMT and CPHQ: Journey to Quality Certification
May 31, 2018

Shortly after joining the Strategic Radiology coalition, the leadership of Orlando, Fla.-based Medical Center Radiology Group attended the coalition’s twice-yearly Quality Forum and made a note: Designate a patient safety lead for the practice and initiate a formal quality program. Back in Florida, MCRG leadership reached out to Diana Stillwell, a nuclear medicine technologist who had just completed her MHA after going back to school and was working for one of their hospitals at the time. When they asked her to lead the program, she hesitated: “I didn’t feel that I had the knowledge that I needed,” recalls Stillwell, director of quality improvement and risk management, MCRG.  “But I knew that I was a resourceful person and thought it was a great opportunity, so I dove right in. I have been in the role for about two and a half years now.”

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Kurt Schoppe, MD: On Radiology’s Nearest Threat, Commoditization, and the Misguided Notion That You Will Be Paid for Everything You Do
Kurt Schoppe, MD: On Radiology’s Nearest Threat, Commoditization, and the Misguided Notion That You Will Be Paid for Everything You Do
May 8, 2018

A self-described militant pragmatist, radiologist Kurt Schoppe, MD, the ACR’s RUC advisor, is not one to shy away from unpleasant economic truths about medicine. Schoppe, a body radiologist with Strategic Radiology member practice Radiology Associates of North Texas in Dallas/Fort Worth, shared some plain-speak on medical economics in a recent column called “Unpopular Opinions” in the Journal of the American College of Radiology.   

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Minneapolis Radiology Associates: Innovation Rules at Fiercely Independent Group
Minneapolis Radiology Associates: Innovation Rules at Fiercely Independent Group
May 3, 2018

Strategic Radiology’s newest affiliate member practice was founded in 1970 to serve the needs of North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale, Minn. “Like most groups, it began with a couple of radiologists sitting in a dark room at a growing hospital,” shares Troy Roovers, the CEO of the 26-physician Minneapolis Radiology Associates (MRA).

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Linda Wilgus, MBA, CPA, Receives Global Achievement Award from RBMA
Linda Wilgus, MBA, CPA, Receives Global Achievement Award from RBMA
May 2, 2018

Linda Wilgus, MBA, CPA, has spent more hours than she can count over the past 20 years reading physician fee schedules, state and federal laws, and other legal and regulatory documents impacting the business of radiology.  On April 5 in San Diego, Wilgus was recognized for her work as a member and chair of the RBMA Federal Affairs Committee by its president Thomas Dickerson, EdD, when he awarded her with the association’s Global Achievement Award.

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Co-management in Spokane: Inland and Providence Add Value with Market-wide Imaging Coordination
Co-management in Spokane: Inland and Providence Add Value with Market-wide Imaging Coordination
March 28, 2018

Since 1930, Inland Imaging, Spokane, Wash., has provided radiology services for Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center & Children’s Hospital, a 719-bed quaternary care hospital, and Providence Holy Family Hospital, a 197-bed community hospital, owned by Providence Health & Services. The radiologists and hospitals deepened their relationship in 1998, when they entered into an exclusive outpatient imaging center joint venture (JV) contract that committed them to a 50-50 ownership of all of their outpatient imaging services in a prescribed geography.

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SR Adopts Sweeping Plan for Enhanced Collaboration at March Board Meeting
SR Adopts Sweeping Plan for Enhanced Collaboration at March Board Meeting
April 4, 2018

In a unanimous vote, the Strategic Radiology (SR) Board of Managers approved a business plan to implement three sweeping national initiatives that will greatly enhance collaborative activity and services for members, 22 privately owned and independent radiology practices. “We have a clear direction, we know where our compass is pointing, and we know what to do,” said Arl Van Moore, MD, FACR, CEO and chair of SR.

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Quality Forum: PSO Basics for Newcomers
Quality Forum: PSO Basics for Newcomers
April 4, 2018

Quality operatives from Strategic Radiology member practices gathered at the March Quality Forum recently, held in Phoenix at the Wild Horse Pass Resort, to share best practices and provide input on future quality initiatives. Lisa Mead, Strategic Radiology PSO and Quality Director, kicked things off with a review of the regulations governing Patient Safety Organizations (PSOs) listed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality for the new participants in the room.

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SR Satisfaction Survey Tool Hits 1 Million Patient Encounters Milestone
SR Satisfaction Survey Tool Hits 1 Million Patient Encounters Milestone
April 4, 2018

When a leading patient satisfaction survey provider announced changes to its survey tool that reduced its value to radiology practices—particularly those that operated outpatient imaging centers—one member wondered if Strategic Radiology could develop a more relevant and useful tool.  Working together, Lisa Mead, RN, MS, CPHQ, executive director, SR PSO Quality and Safety, initiated a Quality Workgroup to develop the questions, and Dave Polmanteer, director of analytics and business intelligence, developed a survey tool that could be customized for each practice.

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Collaboration: A Logical Response to Consolidation
Collaboration: A Logical Response to Consolidation
March 5, 2018

By Arl Van Moore Jr, MD

Last year’s record-breaking deal-making activity among hospitals and health systems suggests that the market is entering a new era of collaboration as consolidation continues. Size and scale have always propelled merger and acquisition (M&A) activity, but the 2017 deals were different Strategy not finance drove the deal-making, according to a report from Kaufman Hall & Associates.

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Peder Horner, MD:  An  Interventional Radiologist's Guide to the IR Twittersphere
Peder Horner, MD: An Interventional Radiologist's Guide to the IR Twittersphere
March 2, 2018

Nine interventional radiologists (IRs) contributed to an enlightening guide to the Twitter IR ecosystem recently published in the Journal of the American College of Radiology special issue on Social Media and Medicine. Among the authors was one of Strategic Radiology’s more active users of the platform, Diversified Radiology’s Peder Horner, MD, @IR_Doctor.

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RadVAULT: Introducing a Tool to Quantify Value-added, Nonclinical Radiologist Time
RadVAULT: Introducing a Tool to Quantify Value-added, Nonclinical Radiologist Time
March 2, 2018

Have you ever wondered how much time the radiologists in your practice spend on nonclinical, unreimbursed activities? When you meet with clients to negotiate contracts, do you struggle to accurately quantify the hours your radiologists spend on tumor boards, hospital committees, patient safety activities, and other contributions?

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What I Learned About Radiology That You Need to Know
What I Learned About Radiology That You Need to Know
March 2, 2018

By Clint McClurg

Before I began my career with Diversified Radiology in Denver, I really never gave much thought to what a radiologist was, and I certainly didn’t think it mattered. After all, if they got their doctor of medicine degrees, weren’t they the same as any other physician? My second day on the job gave me a clear indicator that I was very misinformed. In a small, dark room with a bank of large monitors, I witnessed something completely unexpected.

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Arl Van Moore, MD, FACR: Representing Radiology in the AMA House of Delegates Since 1996
Arl Van Moore, MD, FACR: Representing Radiology in the AMA House of Delegates Since 1996
February 1, 2018

Twice a year, Strategic Radiology’s CEO Arl Van Moore, MD, FACR, packs a bag and travels to a destination somewhere in the United States to represent radiology in the House of Medicine—the American Medical Association’s House of Delegates (HOD). He has represented radiology as a member of the American College of Radiology’s delegation since 1996.

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SR Practices Pass Halfway Mark On Way to $800,000 RSNA R&E Foundation Gift
SR Practices Pass Halfway Mark On Way to $800,000 RSNA R&E Foundation Gift
February 1, 2018

At the conclusion of 2017, contributions from Strategic Radiology (SR) member practices exceeded the halfway milestone toward funding their $800,000 gift to the RSNA Research and Education (R&E) Foundation.  The commitment will fund annual Strategic Radiology Research Seed Grants for 20 years in support research conducted by young investigators and push the specialty into the future.

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Curtis Langlotz, MD, PhD: How Stanford Does Machine Learning in Radiology
Curtis Langlotz, MD, PhD: How Stanford Does Machine Learning in Radiology
February 1, 2018

Located in the Silicon Valley, Stanford Radiology has an enviable vantage point from which to advance deep learning in radiology. Curtis Langlotz, MD, PhD, director of Stanford’s new Artificial Intelligence in Medicine & Imaging (AIMI) laboratory, was one of three academic radiologists to share their institution’s approach to AI during a standing-room-only How I Do It session at the November 2017 meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA),

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Jennifer Kemp, MD: Pressing the Case for Patient-centered Radiology
Jennifer Kemp, MD: Pressing the Case for Patient-centered Radiology
January 31, 2018

During the 2017 RSNA meeting, Jennifer L. Kemp, MD, a body imager with Strategic Radiology member practice Diversified Radiology, Denver, CO, was awarded with the Minnie Award for Scientific Paper of the Year from Aunt Minnie editor-in-chief Brian Casey.  Kemp received the award as lead author of a paper published in Radiology[1] that described the findings of an RSNA survey exploring radiologists' opinions about patient-centered radiology. 

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Strategic Radiology PSO to Celebrate 5 Years in June
Strategic Radiology PSO to Celebrate 5 Years in June
January 31, 2018

In June, one of Strategic Radiology’s most visible symbols of the value of collaboration, the Patient Safety Organization (PSO), will celebrate its fifth anniversary. Since it was listed by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ) on June 19, 2013, SR’s PSO has stood as the first and only radiology-specific PSO in the United States.

 

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Strategic Radiology Launches New Web Site
Strategic Radiology Launches New Web Site
December 21, 2017

If you hadn’t noticed, you may be surprised to see that Strategic Radiology has a brand new, mobile-responsive web site.  Take a few minutes for a test drive. On the home page, you’ll see that there are four user experiences to meet the needs of our primary visitors: radiologists, hospital executives, payers and other partners, and patients. Each section is designed to provide information that helps visitors understand the value that Strategic Radiology practices contribute to health care. 

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QRUR: Getting a Read on Your Value Modifier
QRUR: Getting a Read on Your Value Modifier
December 20, 2017

On September 18, 2017, CMS made available the 2016 Annual Quality and Resource Use Reports (QRURs) to every group practice and solo practitioner in the nation. SR PSO Quality and Safety Director Lisa Mead took that one step further and provided those Strategic Radiology (SR) practices that submitted their data to SR’s Patient Safety Organization with an additional benchmarking document showing them how they compared with their SR peers.

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The 10% That Roared: CMS Adds Cost to 2018 MIPS Reporting Categories
The 10% That Roared: CMS Adds Cost to 2018 MIPS Reporting Categories
December 20, 2017

In January 2018, physicians will receive a positive, negative, or neutral update in their Medicare reimbursement rates based on their final score based calculated from 2016 data for the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS).

Although CMS gave no indication in the proposed 2018 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) that cost would be included in the 2018 calculation—along with quality, improvement activities, and advancing care information categories—the 2018 MPFS Final Rule allotted 10% of the total score to where radiologists fall on the cost spectrum. What does that mean?

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RSNA 2017: Tamping Down High AI Anxiety—How They Do Deep Learning in Radiology
RSNA 2017: Tamping Down High AI Anxiety—How They Do Deep Learning in Radiology
November 28, 2017

Interest—and concern—about artificial intelligence ran so high at the 2017 RSNA meeting that fully 20 minutes prior to the start of “Deep Learning in Radiology: How I Do It,” all seats were occupied and the room was ringed by a standing-room only crowd. Luciano M. Prevedello, MD, MPH, Curtis Langlotz, MD, PhD, and Bradley Erickson, MD, PhD, repaid their eager audience with a rare gift in these times of high AI anxiety—they demystified a powerful new tool.

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RSNA 2017: Telling radiology’s unique tale offers keys to unlock its future
RSNA 2017: Telling radiology’s unique tale offers keys to unlock its future
November 26, 2017

In his president’s address at the annual RSNA meeting in Chicago, Richard L. Ehman, MD, posed the following rhetorical question: “Is it time to reinvent radiology?” The 103rd president of the RSNA left no doubt that he believes the time is now, and he urged, cajoled, and implored radiologists to roll up their sleeves and engage in the transformation of the specialty.

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Hub is the monthly newsletter published for the membership of Strategic Radiology practices. It includes coalition and practice news as well as news and commentary of interest to radiology professionals.

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