Brad Short

Most hospital-based radiology practices have enjoyed stable long-term relationships with the institutions they serve. Recently, however, an increasing number of hospitals have replaced established radiologists. In some cases, the incoming group provides only a small number of on-site radiologists and uses long-distance teleradiology for the bulk of image interpretations. Such technology, along with changing market forces, places many practices at risk. A number of strategies to maintain and foster long-term service relationships were discussed by the ACR Council and are reviewed herein.

States are increasingly considering legislative and regulatory avenues to establish the role of radiologist assistants (RAs) under current state medical practice acts or state radiation control regulatory programs. It is critical that radiology practices be cautious to comply with federal and state laws and regulations to ensure that these advanced practice professionals provide the appropriate services under the appropriate level of supervision. For quality-of-care reasons, the ACR remains concerned about the scope of practice of radiology practitioner assistants and some misinformation that has spread to state officials about the assistants' role in radiology practice. Another potential source of confusion may be the fact that physician assistants and nurse practitioners are being increasingly used in many areas of health care (including radiology) and may derive delegated authority (from physicians) to perform services that physicians determine nurse practitioners or physician assistants to be qualified to perform. The authors in particular emphasize current federal and state legislative activities and describe possible exposure and risks associated with the extension of the scope of practice by radiologic technologists without commensurate changes in state statutes and regulations.

Most hospital-based radiology practices have enjoyed stable long-term relationships with the institutions they serve. Recently, however, an increasing number of hospitals have replaced established radiologists. In some cases, the incoming group provides only a small number of on-site radiologists and uses long-distance teleradiology for the bulk of image interpretations. Such technology, along with changing market forces, places many practices at risk. A number of strategies to maintain and foster long-term service relationships were discussed by the ACR Council and are reviewed herein.

With the profession of radiology experiencing workforce shortages among radiologists and radiological technologists many radiological groups were beginning to hire ancillary personnel to fill efficiency gaps in practices. Many academic institutions were in the process of considering ...

The 2010 RAD-AID Conference on International Radiology for Developing Countries was a multidisciplinary meeting to discuss data, experiences, and models pertaining to radiology in the developing world where widespread shortages of imaging services reduce health care quality. The theme of this year’s conference was sustainability, with a focus on establishing and maintaining imaging services in resource-limited regions Conference presenters and participants identified four important components of sustainability: (1) sustainable financing models for radiology development, (2) integration of radiology and public health, (3) sustainable clinical models and technology solutions for resource-limited regions, and (4) education and training of both developing and developed world health care personnel.

States are increasingly considering legislative and regulatory avenues to establish the role of radiologist assistants (RAs) under current state medical practice acts or state radiation control regulatory programs. It is critical that radiology practices be cautious to comply with ...