Dear Imaging Leaders Insider,
Radiology (and healthcare in general) once again dodged a bullet last week when President Barack Obama signed a controversial federal payroll tax bill that included a two-month postponement of a 27% cut in Medicare payments required by the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula.
As anyone who reads the headlines knows, the legislation had become the centerpiece of a titanic battle between the Obama administration and Republicans in the House of Representatives, who were insisting on a one-year extension of the payroll tax cut. In the end, however, the House GOP blinked and passed the bill, which Obama signed on December 23.
You can now breathe a sigh of relief -- at least until Congress revisits the SGR debate when it returns from its holiday recess. Will we see another temporary patch to the flawed SGR formula, or will Congress finally be able to put a permanent solution in place? In an election year, we know which way we're betting....
In other news, we're highlighting research presented at the recent RSNA 2011 meeting on malpractice risk, including some intriguing findings on the factors that increase a radiologist's chances of being sued.
The frequency of suits against radiologists varies widely from state to state, and the likelihood of an adverse judgment varies across the country as well. But malpractice risk is also influenced by gender, with male radiologists having a greater chance of being sued by age 60 than their female colleagues.
The good news? Failing to order additional diagnostic tests doesn't necessarily result in malpractice suits. Find out more about your medical malpractice risk in this edition's Insider Exclusive.
When you've finished our featured article, check out the rest of our Imaging Leaders Digital Community:
- Read our latest Profit Center article, by contributing writer Mark Weiss, on how radiology groups can protect themselves in a society that increasingly seems to be favoring collectivism over rugged individualism.
- Learn how Connecticut radiologists have adapted to a law requiring patients to be notified of their breast density.
- Read about how the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has changed its methods for developing screening guidelines in the wake of the 2009 fiasco over mammography screening.
- Get the details on the recent arrests in New Jersey in connection with an alleged kickback scheme for MRI referrals.
- Discover yet more evidence that physicians who have financial ties to imaging equipment order more studies.
If you have a comment or report to share about any aspect of diagnostic imaging practice, management, administration, regulation, or financing, please contact me.
Best wishes to you and yours for a happy 2012!
