14 Dec Accountable care organizations could dramatically affect radiology practice

Diagnostic Imaging | December 13 – As new approaches to health information technology and evidence-based medicine affect payment methodologies, it’s time for radiologists to rethink their clinical practices and business strategies. Radiology will be affected not only because it reaches across the full spectrum of healthcare delivery, but also because of the movement of integrated delivery systems toward employing radiologists and the use of corporate teleradiology interpretations to reduce costs.

Three specific legislative measures will significantly affect the ordering of diagnostic imaging tests and determinations of appropriateness. These are the HITECH Act’s incentives for electronic health record (EHR) implementation, the Medicare Imaging Demonstration Project (under the Medicare Patient and Provider Protection Act [MIPPA]), and provisions in the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act for the development of accountable care organizations (ACOs), which will take effect in January 2012.

The HITECH Act and Medicare Imaging Demonstration Project will help streamline radiologic electronic order entry and foster more appropriate use of diagnostic testing through decision-support systems. The HITECH Act will impose penalties on physician practices for noncompliance starting in 2015. If successful, the Medicare Imaging Demonstration Project, which begins in January 2011, may drive the adoption of decision support as part of this electronic workflow. Decision support systems may also form the missing “connector” between payers and providers who must document savings. Projections call for $5 billion in savings to be generated via ACOs. These monies will be reimbursed by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under the Medicare Shared Savings Program.

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