Fluery explained HSS has encouraged and supported increased visibility of radiologists and their interaction with their referring physicians for a long time. “It’s interacting with them in their interdisciplinary conferences and participating in those conferences as a member of the team. Those engagements help foster a better understanding of the enormous amount of value of radiology in general,” he said.

Dr. Carrino noted physicians need a bigger voice in explaining what defines healthcare quality, and as those discussion occur, if people want higher quality, the value to cost equation will tilt further. Patients will ultimately make the decision for transparency related to value and cost, however Fleury underscored the importance to be clear on the value side or benefit side of those costs. “So in that way, the patients can get the full story — they may be paying more for services. Are they getting more? Are they getting better quality? Organizations are really going to have to have that message down very well,” he said.

Read the article at Dotmed.com.

John A. Carrino, MD, MPH, radiologist at HSS, discussed this paradigm shift at the annual Association of Medical Imaging Management meeting, stating, “A lot of alternative payment models are based around the episode-of-care or surgical models, and they look at radiology as only sitting on the cost side of the ledger. They don’t always look at the quality of radiology being provided. But, there’s a value and a quality that radiology brings to overall patient care that needs to be addressed.” Dr. Carrino added, “It’s really important for radiology to participate in these models because imaging can be the primary focus of getting a diagnosis. Even if it’s just a couple of X-rays, radiology contributes positively to the care provided.”

Ultimately, Dr. Carrino said radiology groups must exert effort to highlight the value they provide because it demonstrates to referring providers that it matters where they send their patients for imaging. He concluded, “The healthcare landscape is changing, and imaging is going to be even more scrutinized that ever before in the past. There’s going to be a focus on value over volume, and it’s important to be engaged. Radiology groups should be working closely with other organizations to actively show the value they provide.”

Read the full article at DiagnosticImaging.com.

Healio Cardiology Today spoke to John A. Carrino, MD, MPH, radiologist at HSS, about the approval who noted, “I am excited that new technology for mobile C-arms is now available because it has the potential to drastically improve our radiation safety while maintaining image quality so we can continue to effectively diagnose and treat our patients. I believe these new products should become the standard of care for fluoroscopic procedures.”

Read the full article at Healio.com.

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