CHICAGO--The unsustainable cost trajectory in healthcare is well-known, but much less understood are strategies for practices to thrive as government and payors step up efforts to bend the cost curve. Experts examined the drivers and impacts of the cost curve conundrum during a session on Nov. 28 at the 97th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

Performance expectations and complexity have multiplied exponentially. Experts agree: In the next few years, there will be winners and losers among radiology practices.  How do you lock in on the winning track?

The chaotic weeks wedged between RSNA and the holiday season provide a wonderful wisp of time to collectively catch our breath while looking ahead to the New Year.

Unintended consequences of healthcare legislation enacted over the past 45 years threaten the financial and social well-being of the U.S.

CHICAGOWhile appropriate use criteria are key to curbing radiation exposure and ensuring beneficial CT exams, clinicians have not yet embraced them. Despite the lukewarm acceptance of appropriateness criteria, James A. Brink, MD, chair of radiology at Yale University Medical Center in New Haven, Conn., upped the ante and called for development of multidisciplinary diagnostic algorithms to standardize image utilization during a session on Nov. 27 at the 97th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

CHICAGOWith cost and quality pressures mounting, eeking every iota of efficiency and productivity from imaging processes, while maintaining or improving quality, is essential. Reducing waste can help, and Lean methodology provides a system that can help cash-strapped, time-crunched radiology departments achieve this ambitious objective, according to a scientific poster presented on Nov. 27, at the 97th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

CHICAGOBurton P. Drayer, MD, president of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), met with Health Imaging prior to the RSNA annual conference to discuss the shifting paradigm for radiologists in clinical practice, and how they can better prove their worth in todays clinical practice.

Donald M. Berwick, MD, is resigning as Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), effective Dec. 2.