Radiology leaders will gather in Chicago this week as their industry comes under increasing pressure to curb rising costs with more providers moving toward value-based care models. Health systems are taking steps to increase volume while maintaining quality, by helping their radiology staff to be more productive, so that providers can book more imaging appointments each day.
That can involve training in best practices, centralizing imaging procedures or putting imaging equipment in more convenient locations. Many health systems are also centralizing their radiology scheduling to save money.
As the Radiological Society of North America gathers for its 101st scientific assembly, more ideas, problems and solutions are likely to be discussed.
An international group of radiologists, medical physicists, manufacturers, distributors, providers and other organizations will present the latest equipment and strategies in medical imaging and cancer screening.
New courses this year highlight advances in cardiac radiology, chest radiology, emergency imaging and 3-D printing.
Eric Kammer, senior manager of health strategy at global consulting firm Accenture, notes that many large health systems have found success in hiring in-house equipment technicians for routine repairs in high-volume areas such as X-ray, ultrasound and CT scanning, while allowing the vendor to handle more complex and costly repairs.
