Recent Postings

March 31st, 2010

HEALTH REFORM IS LAW
GOOD or BAD?

There is no question that the passing of legislation to provide additional health insurance availability to millions of Americans has some good provisions and some questionable ones. Although we can't discuss all the provisions, we can look at several main provisions.

February 3rd, 2010

Is HealthCare Reform Dead?

The Republicans won big in Massachusetts, mostly because the people there decided to be heard. They didn't like the health care reform legislation, they didn't like all the back room deals being made with Nebraska, Louisiana, Vermont, Florida, Trade Unions, etc. They didn't like the focus, which was not on the economy and unemployment and they didn't like the massive government spending that was going on without regard to a growing and immense national debt.* *

December 18th, 2009

The President and Congress Need HealthCare?

The health care reform legislation would now become a joke if the consequences were not so devastating to millions of Americans. In an effort to quickly pass legislation in the Senate, regardless of its content, legislators are removing anything that would prevent votes from being lost. This policy which, originates in the White House, reflects the President's demand of passing a historic health care bill this year regardless of whether or not it meets the original goals. The goals were to insure all (or at least most) Americans, lower the cost of health care as well as the cost of health care insurance and to regulate the health insurance industry to cover patients with pre-existing conditions and to prevent coverage from being terminated. Guess what - we aren't even close to achieving these goals.

September 24th, 2009

Do We Really Have An Answer For Health Care Reform??

We keep discussing health care reform but it appears that the more we talk the more we are unable to understand the benefits. Although we have made it very complicated and potentially very expensive, we really haven't come up with solutions that are superior to what we have or to what other countries have. Other countries have nationalized health care. Everyone is covered, no one pays for care and there are no private primary care insurance carriers. Many believe this is good but many others believe it lacks quality, expediency and promotes rationing. The plans now being proposed in the US Congress are not nationalized health care, they are suppose to be a combination of government sponsored coverage and private insurance coverage for all Americans at lower costs. Unfortunately none of the plans proposed come close to providing lower costs with quality care. Why can't we figure out a solution that would improve what we have today?

August 26th, 2009

How To Safely Buy Pre-Owned Medical Systems

Very often there is a need to acquire additional capability in our health care facilities but there isn't always the funds to purchase a new, full-functioned, state of the art, diagnostic imaging system. Therefore, a decision must be made to determine if the additional services can be shifted to another facility or if it is critical or at least necessary to remain at your facility. The decision usually comes back that it needs to remain and options to accommodate it must be considered.

August 17th, 2009

Digital Radiography - Electronic X-Ray - When, Why and How?

It seems like we have crossed the healthcare frontier and the only thing left to conquer is analog or film based x-ray systems. MRI's, CT's, Ultrasound, PET, Bone Densitometry, Mammography and most diagnostic imaging systems output digital data, that is except for Radiography and Fluoroscopy. Most existing systems are still analog and put out either x-ray film and/or analog video. Although most mobile C-arms are now being produced with digital output capability, most existing C-arms, X-ray systems and R/F systems have not yet been upgraded. When you consider that today there are more x-ray studies done than any other modality study, we should concede, we are way overdue in moving to electronic Rad and Fluoro. These upgrades should probably be initiated before all others at medical facilities today.

How To Get The Most From Your Radiology Dollar

August 10th, 2009

The decisions are getting harder when we try and determine what our facility should invest in to provide the best patient care. 256 slice CTs, 3.0T MRIs, Digital Mammography, PACS Upgrade, EHR and so on....? We first try and determine our available budget or we are asked to submit a request for funds based upon current and future requirements, local competition and/or physician requirements. It is now necessary to take a long hard look at what is currently being utilized and determine how best to enhance capabilities. You probably begin to bring in vendors to discuss the capabilities of their new systems, as well as potential costs. If you are like many administrators, you immediately get a large blast of reality $$$$$$$. You instantly know that you will be limited to one purchase or less and it's possible funding won't be available for several years. If you are experiencing growth, patient count is increasing, test procedures are on the increase, and avaliable system time is becoming harder and harder to come by, then you know you will need to upgrade Radiology capacity.

Health Care Reform, the Medical Community and You

August 3rd, 2009

There is a tremendous effort by the President and the Democratic Party to swiftly replace our current system of health care insurance with a government sponsored insurance program designed to bring health insurance coverage to all Americans. Of course, this sounds like a wonderful idea, however, after understanding the details outlined in the proposed legislation, many may want to reconsider their position.