There is another perspective on the analysis of proposed CMS regulations as described in your article CMS plan could take a bite out of teleradiology night reads, published July 29.
The analysis of the regulations correctly states that motivated teleradiology companies will work hard to get their radiologists privileges at a hospital where it has contracted to provide extensive services. It also notes that hurdles to privileging might have the perverse effect of invoking resistance on the parts of hospitals when an incumbent radiology group seeks to obtain outsourced services.
But there is a problem with hospitals accepting the credentials of others (The Joint Commission, teleradiology companies, or other hospitals). That approach bypasses normal medical staff oversight. This is inimical to patient care and undermines the security of all medical staff: now radiologists-next, someone else.
At a time when there appears to be a reckless attitude on the part of shortsighted hospital CEOs and their boards of directors toward radiology service providers, many consultants and well-known radiologists are appropriately advising radiology practices to make medical staffs their allies. The benefits of these efforts are compounded because the medical staff has a strong role in credentialing.
Removing the local oversight of credentialing weakens what are potentially the only allies that patients and radiologists might have.
I submit that the benefits of medical staff involvement outweigh the potential disincentives to introducing teleradiology when a radiology practice seeks them out. In fact, the ACR has a policy that states, “The American College of Radiology regards care by onsite radiologists preferable to teleradiology, the latter being most useful as a supplement to onsite care for purposes such as subspecialty consultation and to provide coverage for underserved areas where the physical presence of a radiologist is not feasible.”
A decision to introduce outsourced providers to a hospital should be taken very seriously, and hurdles are appropriate.
Dr. Kaye chairs the radiology department at Bridgeport Hospital, Yale New Haven Health System, in Bridgeport, CT.
Comment: Hurdles to remote credentialing protect radiologists and quality of care
There is another perspective on the analysis of proposed CMS regulations as described in your article "CMS plan could take a bite out of teleradiology night reads," published July 29. There is a problem with hospitals accepting the credentials of others. That approach bypasses normal medical staff oversight. This is inimical to patient care and undermines the security of all medical staff: now radiologists-next, someone else.
There is another perspective on the analysis of proposed CMS regulations as described in your article CMS plan could take a bite out of teleradiology night reads, published July 29.
The analysis of the regulations correctly states that motivated teleradiology companies will work hard to get their radiologists privileges at a hospital where it has contracted to provide extensive services. It also notes that hurdles to privileging might have the perverse effect of invoking resistance on the parts of hospitals when an incumbent radiology group seeks to obtain outsourced services.
But there is a problem with hospitals accepting the credentials of others (The Joint Commission, teleradiology companies, or other hospitals). That approach bypasses normal medical staff oversight. This is inimical to patient care and undermines the security of all medical staff: now radiologists-next, someone else.
At a time when there appears to be a reckless attitude on the part of shortsighted hospital CEOs and their boards of directors toward radiology service providers, many consultants and well-known radiologists are appropriately advising radiology practices to make medical staffs their allies. The benefits of these efforts are compounded because the medical staff has a strong role in credentialing.
Removing the local oversight of credentialing weakens what are potentially the only allies that patients and radiologists might have.
I submit that the benefits of medical staff involvement outweigh the potential disincentives to introducing teleradiology when a radiology practice seeks them out. In fact, the ACR has a policy that states, “The American College of Radiology regards care by onsite radiologists preferable to teleradiology, the latter being most useful as a supplement to onsite care for purposes such as subspecialty consultation and to provide coverage for underserved areas where the physical presence of a radiologist is not feasible.”
A decision to introduce outsourced providers to a hospital should be taken very seriously, and hurdles are appropriate.
Dr. Kaye chairs the radiology department at Bridgeport Hospital, Yale New Haven Health System, in Bridgeport, CT.
Study Reaffirms Low Risk for csPCa with Biopsy Omission After Negative Prostate MRI
In a new study involving nearly 600 biopsy-naïve men, researchers found that only 4 percent of those with negative prostate MRI had clinically significant prostate cancer after three years of active monitoring.
The Reading Room Podcast: Emerging Concepts in Breast Cancer Screening and Health Equity Implications, Part 3
In the third episode of a three-part podcast, Anand Narayan, M.D., Ph.D., and Amy Patel, M.D., discuss the challenges of expanded breast cancer screening amid a backdrop of radiologist shortages and ever-increasing volume on radiology worklists.
Study Examines Impact of Deep Learning on Fast MRI Protocols for Knee Pain
Ten-minute and five-minute knee MRI exams with compressed sequences facilitated by deep learning offered nearly equivalent sensitivity and specificity as an 18-minute conventional MRI knee exam, according to research presented recently at the RSNA conference.
The Reading Room Podcast: Emerging Concepts in Breast Cancer Screening and Health Equity Implications, Part 2
In the second episode of a three-part podcast, Anand Narayan, M.D., Ph.D., and Amy Patel, M.D., discuss recent studies published by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) that suggested moving to more of a risk-adapted model for mammography screening.
Can Radiomics Bolster Low-Dose CT Prognostic Assessment for High-Risk Lung Adenocarcinoma?
A CT-based radiomic model offered over 10 percent higher specificity and positive predictive value for high-risk lung adenocarcinoma in comparison to a radiographic model, according to external validation testing in a recent study.
The Radiologist Profiler
Does our pattern recognition expertise in imaging extend to our impressions of tells in the work of our colleagues?
Study Reaffirms Low Risk for csPCa with Biopsy Omission After Negative Prostate MRI
In a new study involving nearly 600 biopsy-naïve men, researchers found that only 4 percent of those with negative prostate MRI had clinically significant prostate cancer after three years of active monitoring.
The Reading Room Podcast: Emerging Concepts in Breast Cancer Screening and Health Equity Implications, Part 3
In the third episode of a three-part podcast, Anand Narayan, M.D., Ph.D., and Amy Patel, M.D., discuss the challenges of expanded breast cancer screening amid a backdrop of radiologist shortages and ever-increasing volume on radiology worklists.
Study Examines Impact of Deep Learning on Fast MRI Protocols for Knee Pain
Ten-minute and five-minute knee MRI exams with compressed sequences facilitated by deep learning offered nearly equivalent sensitivity and specificity as an 18-minute conventional MRI knee exam, according to research presented recently at the RSNA conference.
The Reading Room Podcast: Emerging Concepts in Breast Cancer Screening and Health Equity Implications, Part 2
In the second episode of a three-part podcast, Anand Narayan, M.D., Ph.D., and Amy Patel, M.D., discuss recent studies published by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) that suggested moving to more of a risk-adapted model for mammography screening.
Can Radiomics Bolster Low-Dose CT Prognostic Assessment for High-Risk Lung Adenocarcinoma?
A CT-based radiomic model offered over 10 percent higher specificity and positive predictive value for high-risk lung adenocarcinoma in comparison to a radiographic model, according to external validation testing in a recent study.
The Radiologist Profiler
Does our pattern recognition expertise in imaging extend to our impressions of tells in the work of our colleagues?