Hey Dalai, do you get a paycheck from Amicas? Do you hold any Amicas stock? How about a little disclosure :) Just wondering why you're always helping these guys.Thanks!Mr. Anonymous, I'll let my alter-ego answer your questions. He will be playing the part of "Amicas" in the short movie, "Amicas and GE." Please enjoy!
A very prescient statement from 1961 about Socialized Medicine, by then-private citizen Ronald Reagan. It rings totally true today. Under the guise of "liberalism," and "helping the needy," Socialized Medicine was to be snuck into being in this country 48 years ago, just as it is today. Reagan considered this the first step to Socialism overall. Listen to the clip, and I guarantee you will be frightened by the uncanny similarity to today's situation.
Distribute this clip to everyone you know, and especially to your Congressmen. Maybe this juggernaut can still be stopped. Maybe.
Note: someone from a famous advanced imaging company in Minneapolis posted this comment:
Yeah, God forbid we be able to afford health care... Reagan didn't give a damn about the poor and there were a lot more of them by the time he was done.
That's your opinion. How about getting your company to provide some service, eh? Or can we not afford that either? And by the way, thanks ever so much for giving us Senator Al Franken. . .
The handwriting is on the wall, and pretty much everywhere else in Toledo. The IA scam, experiment, whatever, has failed miserably. IA is going down, and I suspect the administrators who bought into this farce will be out on the street as well.All were outraged that MHP did this to us, and they were outraged with the way it was done. They all realize that they may be next, and that it is all about control. They asked several times if we would be willing to go back to MHP. This is a topic CRC talked about last night at our group meeting. The general consensus is, we would be happy to go back into mercy hospitals, but not if IA is there, and not if certain elements of the administration are still there. I stressed the fact that they should not feel that there is no other choice but to live with the poor quality of IA; if IA is out, we would be happy to go back in. At least this gave them some options. . .
In short, the medical staff is outraged at the administration, they are disgusted with the poor quality they are getting from the IA radiologists, and they are afraid that they may be next. I'm not sure what they are going to do about it, but, according to the medical executive committee, this is an absolute disaster. Later, I found out that the much ballyhooed 3D imaging from MGH is not even operational yet, despite the fact that MGH had one of their PhD's there yesterday giving a lecture about how wonderful it is. And as far as the claims of improved turn around time, Nighthawk called yesterday about an MRI, saying all of the images weren't sent. The thing is, the study was done last Thursday! More reports of 4 hour fistulagrams, 1-2 hour PICC's, unsuccessful arthrograms, disaster myelograms. It's a catastrophe on all accounts.
Are you hungry to learn more about radiology, or do you simply want to further your healthcare career? Sometimes, learning is easier when you can enjoy the posts that are entered into a radiologist’s blog. Or, perhaps you soak up knowledge when you can participate in learning modules or community provided by other blogs. Or, if you’re a loner, you can scan through the news blogs listed below.Well. My favorite, Dalai's PACS Blog is listed as #29, although the number apparently doesn't mean anything:
No matter how you learn, the following top fifty blogs can help you stay in tune with healthcare and help you further your healthcare career. The blogs are divided by categories, and then listed alphabetically within those categories. This is one way we can show our readers that we do not prefer one blog over another. The blogs listed below have been updated within the past two months and are fairly active:
Dalai’s PACS Blog: This blog is written by an “average” Radiologist in an “average” practice in an “average” town in the South. He’s obsessed with PACS systems, and he’s been awarded “Top HealthBlogger for the General Medicine Community.”Amazing how awards perpetuate awards. The "Top HealthBlogger" thing really doesn't mean much at all, but it does look nice there in the left margin, doesn't it?
Jamie Farr, MASH's "Max Klinger," Number One Fan of the Toledo Mud Hens (photo courtesy http://mash.sipe.cz/) We were told by the administration on Tuesday morning 5/19/09 that we were out on 6/8/09. If we wanted we could become employees of IA. No contract was seen and no details of call or compensation have been given. We are a group of 19 rads in Toledo OH. We staff(ed) 3 hospitals in a system, one of which is a 550 bed inner city teaching hospital and trauma center.Depending upon whom you believe, IA has either made a go of it, or has blown the deal completely. From the Toledo Blade, 6/28/2009:
To date, Imaging Advantage has about 15 radiologists, all of whom have at least 90-day contracts, at Mercy's three Toledo-area hospitals, and it is working to permanently fill positions by early September, Dr. Andrabi said. More radiologists are working at Mercy now than before, he said, and all off-site test-reading is done in the United States.There were rumours, which were unsubstantiated, that there would be off-shore reading, or ghosting. This apparently is not the case. But the rads on the ground are apparently all from locums services, at least those that were mentioned in the Blade article, and don't work directly for IA. A significant amount of work is apparently being performed by NightHawk Radiology, although it is impossible to tell just how much is being read, and how much is transmitted out.
He says that MHP signed with Imaging Advantage believing that radiology report turnaround times needed to be lowered to serve both patients and referring physicians. “We needed to go to a different management model to enable us to do that. For the concept we looked at, we needed teleradiology as an adjunct to on-site physicians to meet turnaround times. From the time something is performed in radiology until the referring physician has it in hand should be no more than 4 hours,” he says.But even Dr. Andrabi, as quoted in the Blade, realized that there were reasons for CRC having TAT's that appeared to be longer:
One key difference is that Imaging Advantage radiologists working at Mercy will not reread interpretations done overnight by the teleradiology firm it uses. That saves time, although it eliminates a second look, said Dr. Imran Andrabi. . .The turn-around-time argument is lame at best, and appears to have been rigged at worst. Houdini-Rad, another CRC member posted this:
TAT at MHP was from order entry to signed report. At St. Anne Mercy ave. TAT was less than 24 hrs. Administration broke down TAT's by modality and whined about TAT for speciality MRI, msk, breast, etc. and for CTA's. The problem with CTA's with over 1000 images the PACS would crash. I was once trying to go over a stat CTA of the aorta with a cardiovascular surgeon at the level 1 center and had to load the case on 5 reading stations and as one would crash we would go to the next. He couldn't believe we had this problem and that it was allowed to go on even after our complaints. This surgeon left Toledo last fall. We were given no slack if we were waiting for appropriate outside studies or path reports. As you know getting this info can take days. Thus increased TAT.I have learned that the PACS in question was an older Kodak Carestream, for whatever that's worth. This is a PACS blog, after all!
One company that has built its advanced visualization platform from the ground up on thin-client technology is Massachusetts-based Visage Imaging, a subsidiary of the Australia-based informatics organization Pro Medicus Ltd. Early on, Dreyer was named head of the medical advisory board at Visage. He says that he quickly began to stress the importance of scalability . . . For two years, Dreyer says, MGH worked with Visage in clinical trials to achieve functionality that would meet the hospital’s needs.
Interesting. Did Mercy dump CRC to avoid buying a system that costs less than $200,000?But Dr. Andrabi said that by contracting with Imaging Advantage, Mercy not only will get test results more rapidly but also will have access to other advanced technology.
For example, Imaging Advantage has a contract with Massachusetts General Hospital for three-dimensional radiology rendering services, with images from other hospitals sent there to be converted, he said.Imaging Advantage plans to extend the service to Mercy, where radiologists will read images converted into 3D at Massachusetts General, Mr. Hashim (CEO of IA) said.
The arrangement will allow Mercy doctors to tell more quickly what problems patients have without the Toledo system having to invest money and time in technology, Mr. Hashim said.
From the Radiology Business Journal article:Imaging Advantage is a market leader in providing comprehensive radiology solutions to hospitals, imaging centers and radiology groups. We focus exclusively on two goals: enhancing existing radiology services in local communities (by introducing 'best in class' services and incorporating local groups and radiologists into our program) and achieving excellence in patient care.Our solutions include: practice management, radiologist staffing, day and night final read teleradiology, subspecialty and quality control programs, and uniquely tailored programs to increase patient throughput, reduce costs and increase market share.
Our team members are graduates of Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Cornell, Columbia, Wharton and other excellent institutions.
Imaging Advantage managers are advised by luminaries in business and medicine including former Cendant CEO and Chairman Henry Silverman and Dr. Alexander Margulis, one of the most respected and acclaimed radiologists in the world. Our Medical Advisory Board consists of a select group of the country's leading radiologists.
Imaging Advantage has a contract with Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Radiology to provide 3D rendering services. MGH has representatives on the Imaging Advantage Medical Advisory Board and a separate Oversight Board for 3D. This reflects MGH's interest in promoting the 3D work where MGH has 10 years of experience delivering centralized services.
Imaging Advantage is 100% US-based and all teleradiology exams are read domestically by US board certified radiologists.
Imaging Advantage assists clients in competing during difficult economic times. We market our clients' radiology department services through symposia and through our nationally recognized Public Relations firm.
Interesting. If CRC was so bad, why were they worthy of being hired back? And, more important to the wider question, where does IA make its money?Imaging Advantage CEO M. Naseer-Uddin Hashim says, however, that there is a lot of excitement attached to thinking another way. “Radiology, the way it’s practiced, is very static,” he says. “I think it should be dynamic; that’s our model. Give the local physicians the tools, the technology, and the resources to serve the patient better. I believe you, [the radiologist], are part of a dynamic system throughout the United States. I’m going to put you into that network.”
Hashim describes himself as a former practicing attorney turned entrepreneur. Imaging Advantage began in 2006, he says. He was reluctant to discuss Imaging Advantage’s clients other than MHP, but agrees that the number could be called “several dozen.”
Imaging Advantage, Hashim says, might partner with a radiology group, take over the group, or (as in the case with MHP) take over the radiology service contract with the hospital. Whenever it has taken over the contract, he says, it has always offered jobs to the radiologists in the existing group, which it tried to do with Consulting Radiologists Corp in Toledo. He says that it was unusual for radiologists in the existing group to turn Imaging Advantage down cold, as the Consulting Radiologists Corp physicians did. “This is the first time this has ever happened, where the whole group has decided they’re going to hold off,” he says.
Word that escapes the gag suggests that no one is winning, least of all the patients of the Mercy system.Hashim denies that what Imaging Advantage was doing amounted to a predatory commoditization or corporatization of the practice of radiology. “We’re exactly the opposite,” he says. “I start by working with the local radiologists and saying, ‘Let me make you indispensable.’” Adding teleradiology into the mix, he says, eases the burden on the local radiologists and improves turnaround times on reports. “When you improve turnaround times, you serve patients better,” he says. “The other thing is that you’re removing stress because radiology is a bottleneck, so you’re improving the entire hospital system.”
Hashim says that no payment was made by MHP in the Imaging Advantage takeover. Asked how Imaging Advantage makes money, he mentions efficiencies. “In certain cases, we may also participate on the technical side of the deal,” he adds. “If we increase the volume and efficiency, everybody wins.”
Goler goes on to say (concerning TAT):This business model is nothing new. RSJ (Reich Seidelman and Jannicki) and Team health were doing it in the late 90's. Pretty simple...put up booths at hospital administration conferences promising hospital administrators radiology services. There are a large group of administrators who just want power and control...easiest to do with the so called hospital based specialties. Then put out an RFP, which is rigged. The new group gets the contract, gives the old members a chance to keep their jobs. Pretty good chance one or two people will do so, because they have kids in school, etc.
RSJ did this in Sioux City Iowa in the late 90's, destroyed a group but one radiologist had just finished building a customized home to care for...had to stay. Then they rotate locums in and out, and use telerad while trying to entice people to move there and keep 40% of what they make. Of course, it doesn't work, but they walk out a million dollars ahead. Optimal (a group similar to IA) does same thing.
Reason this model works, by the way, is that enough radiologists are out there willing to look the other way and step into these contracts. And they are not competitive ...exclusive contracts are anything but.
. . . As for the rads in Toledo. . .don't know the market, might not be practical, but now would be a good time to build outpatient imaging centers and take the business back. It will be a couple of years, but the hospital will fail because this model sucks. But it will take that long and that much money loss until the board figures it out and dumps this administrator. . .
Nice visuals.Sure and begorrah, it's blarney. But this is just part of the script. Bet that the rate limiting factor for radiology reports was not the radiologists,but the hospital's fault. They make up something that sounds good to board members, and the uninformed. Then they start slamming the local rads. The consulting group says it's just trying to help, make it a win win situation.
The game is lost at this point, and it will be a minimum of two years before that becomes evident to the general hospital board and employees. The administrator bet his reputation on this working, and using the model right now to see what other docs it can be applied to. The business plan is akin to a pimp, a prostitute turned madam, and a stable of prostitutes. There are about 4800 hospitals in the United States...or a pool of 4800 administrators trying to climb their way up the food chain to the next bigger paycheck. They can do two things to show their value . . . building projects, and getting control of doctors. Madam's make their cut from a big slice of the girls working on their backs and knees. Very profitable business model...service oriented.
But isn't this "just business"? (And typical academic behaviour?) No. A good group was tossed out in what appears to be an unscrupulous manner. I think most of us have good relationships with our administrations, but. . . It is all too easy for those in the C-Suite to be swayed by fast-talking, slick operators with JD's and MBA's. IA is simply the latest example of a bunch of enterpreneurs who think they are smarter than the rest of us. The plan is simple: find radiologists who will work cheap, become the middle-man, and pocket the difference. All the better if the original rads feel compelled to stay on, working harder than they did before for less money. Consider this the Enron-gambit of radiology. It is an unsustainable model, because the guys on the ground get burned out very quickly, but by that time, IA will have made a million or so for its efforts. It can then just walk away from the whole thing.Imaging Advantage touts a relationship with Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Boston, Massachusetts, to provide 3D rendering services. Andrabi says that the MGH service is not yet up and running at MHP. (Spartandoc) says that the MGH connection was used repeatedly during the transition to reassure clinicians at MHP of the quality of Imaging Advantage.
“I think that’s scary for the entire field of radiology", (Spartandoc) says. “The name MGH evokes top-notch, cutting-edge radiology. It’s one of the shining stars. I think it’s frightening that this shining star is leading the way to the commoditization of radiology services.”
I wish them well. But for the grace of God go we all.In the end, (Spartandoc) says, Consulting Radiologists Corp decided to downsize, and none of its radiologists signed with Imaging Advantage. Some have left for other jobs, two have gone on sabbatical, and two took early retirement, Cervantes reports. Volume at Consulting Radiologists Corp’s imaging center has gone up 50% since Imaging Advantage took over at MHP, and hospitals competing with MHP are seeing volume increases too, he adds. “They are still without radiology directors at all three Mercy hospitals,” (Spartandoc) says. “I know because I have filed a complaint with the Joint Commission.”
(Spartandoc) thinks that Consulting Radiologists Corp, in its downsized version, will survive. He says that the response to its loss of MHP business from the radiology community has been surprisingly strong. He says, “I’ve had phone calls from all over the country.” His callers realize that the corporate takeover/teleradiology business model, he says, “is bad for patient care, and they’re trying to stop it as soon as they can.”
