How optimistic are you that your hospital will be able to invest in IT or grow a profit center in the next few months? What about reimbursement rates and staffing costs?
That's what the Medical Imaging Confidence Index (MICI), co-developed by The MarkeTech Group LLC and AHRA: The Association for Medical Imaging Management, seeks to assess. In this inaugural quarterly index, hospital imaging directors/managers completed an online survey about their perceptions of medical imaging trends for the first quarter (January to March) of 2011. Every quarter, the same participants will be asked the same questions.
Because of how the longitudinal index culls responses from a statistical cohort of participants, the index is considered a sophisticated scientific measure and reliable gauge of the industry outlook, according to index developers. For each topic, the index posed this statement: "Over the next three months, I am very optimistic that our department ..." Scores measure their level of confidence (from extremely low to extremely high). Here are the results:
| Topic | Score Mean | Interpretation |
| Will grow monthly volume in diagnostic and interventional radiology | 105 | Neutral |
| Will receive adequate reimbursement from Medicare for diagnostic and interventional imaging | 71 | Low confidence |
| Internal operating and staff costs will remain constant | 128 | High confidence |
| Will have access to capital for imaging equipment and IT needs | 93 | Neutral |
| Will maintain/grow as a profit center | 124 | High confidence |
| Composite score across all areas | 103 | Neutral |
These initial results show that imaging managers are making a distinction between factors they can and can’t control. For example, they aren’t so optimistic about reimbursement, but they're still feeling confident they can manage costs and maintain radiology as a valuable profit center, officials at the AHRA noted.
“The results of this confidence index indicate that imaging managers recognize the challenges that exist in our current healthcare environment but are fairly optimistic that they will be able to manage in this new reality,” said AHRA President Roland Rhynus, CRA, FAHRA. “The message for the hospital C-Suite is to be sure you have competent management teams in place. Imaging management is a profession with a recognized body of knowledge and best practices.”
What do you think?
Medical Imaging Confidence Index (MICI) was co-developed by AHRA:The Association for Medical Imaging Management and The MarkeTech Group, owner of the imagePRO panel, launched in 2008. MICI data rely on the feedback of a statistical cohort of respondents from the imagePRO panel that accurately represent the US market hospital market by bedsize and geographic areas.
