Facility Management

Philips Medical Systems has halted manufacture of nuclear medicineimaging systems to concentrate on better business prospects inother modalities. The firm will focus on MRI, ultrasound, CT,x-ray, and radiation therapy, according to Hans van Bree,

Imaging center operators should move slowly in modifying jointventures to comply with the Health and Human Services safe harborregulations (SCAN 8/14/91), according to Charles Booth, an imagingcenter consultant. Pending regulatory and judicial action

Proliferation of three-dimensional medical image processing systemswill accelerate over the next several years (see graph). A primeforce driving 3-D medical imaging is the growing processing powerand open-system architecture of medical workstations,

Initiation of dual-head single-photon emission computed tomographycamera sales this year will boost revenues in the nuclear marketby about 10%, predicted James L. Besett, general manager of Picker'snuclear medicine division. Unit sales will remain fairly

Turbulence in the imaging center business may be subsiding, althoughmany doctors are nervously reconsidering existing or potentialinvestments, industry sources report. Center deals ground to a halt this month following publicationof the Department of

GE Medical Systems has applied for Food and Drug Administrationmarket approval of a 0.5-tesla version of its high-end Signa MRIsystem. The vendor hopes to receive the go-ahead for U.S. salesby next month. The 0.5-tesla Signa will fill a gap between

While unit sales of mega-expensive positron emission tomographycameras are still nothing to shout about, the PET market showedbrisk growth last year. PET orders flattened out, however, inthe first half of 1991. GE installed or is in the process of

Medicare's new capital reimbursement rules (SCAN 3/13/91) havenot dampened hospital interest in magnetic resonance imaging purchases,according to Steve Shearer, an analyst for MD Buyline. Demand for assessment of proposed MRI and computed

A proposal to provide differentiated Medicare reimbursement fornonionic radiographic contrast media was embedded in the same187-page rule containing the relative-value scale regulations(see previous story). Nonionic agents are currently reimbursedat the

The medical imaging industry views with mixed emotions the reimbursementguidelines established last month by the Blue Cross and Blue ShieldAssociation. BCBSA is urging member insurers to extend reimbursement fornumerous preventive health-care

Radiologists received a rude surprise when they read the mostrecent proposal from the Health Care Financing Administrationfor Medicare fees based on a resource-based, relative-value scale(RVS). The proposed regulations were published last month in

As government efforts to restrict referring-physician ownershipof freestanding imaging centers wallow in the bureaucracy, theanticipated flood of independent centers up for sale has diminishedto a trickle. Imaging center chains are not finding

International investors are showing increased interest in U.S.medical firms, despite the appeal of a unified European market,according to Jack W. Cumming, president of WDI International. WDI offers strategic business consulting and investment

Rep. Fortney "Pete" Stark (D-CA) will launch a frontalassault early this summer on referring physicians who have financialstakes in freestanding imaging clinics. Medicare payments formagnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography will also

A major shareholder in imaging center firm American Health Serviceshas been placed in receivership. It is expected that 3.8 millionshares of preferred AHS stock held by OmniCorp Holdings of Switzerlandwill be offered for sale. This amounts to about 28%

Charges for positron emission tomography examinations vary widely,and discounting is common, according to a report released lastmonth. Centers eager to boost the use of PET trim as much as $800off PET exams that can cost over $2000, the report found.

A last-minute buying binge will not permit hospitals to escapethe proposed phase-out of the Medicare capital pass-through program(SCAN 2/13/91). Payments for old medical equipment will be protectedonly if the equipment was purchased prior to October

Norland is enlarging its U.S. organization, following the bonedensitometer company's acquisition last year by Novatech Management(SCAN 5/23/90). Novatech is a New York health-care investmentcompany partially owned by Albert S. Waxman, founder and

A government decision to replace the Medicare capital pass-throughprogram with a system of flat annual payments could be the mostsignificant change in how Medicare makes payments to hospitalssince the advent of diagnosis-related groups eight years

Three former Fonar executives have joined with a fourth partnerto form Imaging Systems International of Boca Raton, FL, a magneticresonance imaging center firm. ISI's first center, North GeorgiaDiagnostic Imaging of Atlanta, opened in June, according to

Americans' insistence on high-quality, high-tech health care couldinsulate the medical imaging market from the economic downturnfacing most of the nation's industries. Company revenues fromsales of x-ray equipment grew by 11.8% in 1990, according to

Medscan, a Philadelphia imaging center company, appeared at the1990 Radiological Society of North America with a new identityand plans for expanded services. Although the firm's RSNA exhibitand product literature bore the label Americare Technologies

Competition in computed radiography may soon heat up for Fuji,the lone pioneer in the CR market for nearly a decade. Both Kodakand Agfa showed works-in-progress CR units at the 1990 RadiologicalSociety of North America meeting. Clinicians are showing

Industry executives disturbed by financial analysts' quarterlyfixation might be interested to know that some analysts preferto think long-term. A 21-year veteran health-care analyst haslaunched his own consulting business and is refreshed by the changeof

Declining Medicare reimbursement for magnetic resonance imagingscans combined with bargain-shopping by managed-health-care groupsspells trouble for high-field MRI centers, said Leonard F. Vernon,president and CEO of Imaging Management Associates. Centers

Tight reimbursement and improvements in low-field technology havecombined to force down the prices of magnetic resonance imagingsystems sold in Japan and Europe. Japanese MRI prices have beendeclining for at least two years, and this trend has spread

Like many groups, we feel like we are always in the midst of negotiations with our hospital. During each renegotiation, it seems that the hospital starts by describing our deficiencies. Often, the barrage would start before the negotiations commenced. Missed cases were brought up, as were issues related to personnel conflicts. Irregularities in report turnaround might be mentioned, and unhappy clinicians seemed to suddenly surface.

In the first of this four-part series, Medical Management Professionals Inc.'s Jana Landreth discusses effective metrics for measuring revenue and the single biggest cause of lost revenue for hospital-based radiologists.