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President's Viewbox
RELATIONSHIPS AND VISIBILITY VERSUS THE COMMODITIZATION OF RADIOLOGY
Mark Yuhasz, MD, FACR
President, Washington State Radiological Society

As our country continues to languish in the current economic downturn and serious health care reform seems inevitable. I believe the greatest threat to our profession is the growing perception of radiologists and the work we do as a commodity; a cost center instead of a valuable service.

We need to demonstrate to our patients, fellow caregivers, administrators and payers (including the government), the value that we as individual practitioners bring to radiology?

This is particularly challenging with the increased automation of medicine where we rarely directly interact with colleagues.  It is compounded in an environment where outsourcing of our services through tele-radiology is common.  When there is no perceived difference in service provided by on site radiologists vs outsourcing the cost factor will become the dominate force determining how, when, and by whom our services are provided?

We are increasingly vulnerable to becoming invisible.  The security of  traditional private practice radiology groups is at risk.  For now we are in part protected by legislation that prohibits interpretation of Medicare studies at sites off US soil, JACHO requirements for hospitals, and credentials committees of hospital systems. We can help secure our future by using every opportunity to increase/maintain our visibility with all stakeholders.  This includes maintaining/increasing our on site coverage and active participation in hospital, community, and professional organizations.  Patients benefit most and referrers see the added value we bring by maximizing the time we directly collaborate with them optimizing patient care. This ideally is done by reviewing imaging studies on patients with the caregivers.  The widespread use of PACS has made phone consultation nearly as effective provided the referring physician knows and trusts the radiologist with whom they are speaking. Clinical conferences reviewing cases can make a great impact coordinating care, interacting with multiple clinicians and services and demonstrating radiology’s role in clinical care.  

The ACR has done a good job of helping educate patients through the media and their website radiologyinfo.org in terms of what a radiologist is and the value we bring to their medical care.  We as individuals can increase this awareness by trying to speak directly to at least 5 patients everyday that we work.

Our future should be bright.  In the end, it may be our relationships that save our specialty.

References

1. Boland, G. Visibility of Radiologists: Helping to Secure Your Future.  AJR 2009; 192:1373-1374
2. Gunderman, R. Commodity or Profession?  JACR 2008; 5:540-543
3. Gunderman R, Boland, G.  Value in Radiology. Radiology 2009; 253:597-599