MICI Survey Shows Gains in Confidence for Radiology Administrators

Diagnostic imaging has experienced significant gains in its financial significance to clinical practices. However, radiology administrators were feeling bleak about the financial future of their facilities. Some PACS systems and associated products can have high installation costs that put a dent in the revenue cycle of care centers.

However, according to data from the Medical Imaging Confidence Index, these administrators have shown signs of “guarded optimism” regarding impending business prospects. Each of the five categories of the index experienced increases in the last quarter, conveying a newfound confidence in the positive financial impact of imaging modalities.

Looking ahead with an ‘index’
According to AuntMinnie.com, the MICI is a forward-thinking index that aims to glean early insight into possible trends as they develop within the health care industry. The radiology administrators were asked to give answers about five key categories that they encounter in their workflows, with responses coming in from more than 150 imaging directors and hospital managers.

The survey’s participants were from all over the U.S., including 20 percent from the East North Central region, 15 percent in the Mid-Atlantic, 11 percent in the West North Central, 10 percent in the Pacific, and so on. They rated their levels of optimism about five topics:

Monthly growth in diagnostic and interventional imaging
Receiving adequate reimbursement from Medicare for diagnostic and interventional imaging
Internal operating and staff costs remaining constant
Having access to capital for imaging equipment and IT needs
Maintaining/growing as a profit center

FierceEMR indicated that the respondents were asked to score their confidence from a low of 0 to a high of 200. As with past surveys, administrators indicated the least amount of confidence in receiving adequate Medicare reimbursements from the federal government with a score of 58. On the other hand, the highest confidence score of 122 was for keeping internal and staff costs at a constant level.

However, recovering from its score of 92 in the first quarter of 2014, growing diagnostic and interventional imaging volume increased to 101 – a significant gain, according to Christian Renaudin, Ph.D., founder and CEO of MarkeTech Group, which conducted the MICI survey.

“They feel they can control their labor and operating costs; they can control somewhat their volume,” said Ed Cronin, executive director of the Association for Medical Imaging Management, quoted by AuntMinnie.com. “[For] the things that they can’t control – the reimbursement rates and, in some respects, the capital availability – they have lower confidence.”

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