The latest batch of indices from Virtual Radiologic (vRad), part of the teleradiology company’s Radiology Patient Care data project available for free download at vRad, points to key economic trends as radiologists approach a fee-for-value model. “A Day in the Life of Radiology” found that while many radiologists are working longer hours to make up for reduced reimbursement rates, not all imaging studies shoulder costs evenly.
vRad pulled from its own repository of 23 million imaging studies across three distinct time shifts to assess their relative value: “Onsite” (Mon.-Fri. 7:00 am – 6:00 pm; Sat. 8:00 am – 12:00 pm), “Midhawk” (Mon.-Fri. 6:00 pm – 12:00 am), and “Deephawk” (Mon.-Fri.12:00 am – 7:00 am; Sat. 12:00 pm – Mon. 7:00 am). The study found that while the overnight shift accounted for nearly half of all working hours, it generated only 11% of total RVUs. Likewise, the daytime shift accounted for 70% of all RVUs while representing only 35% of total working hours.
“Insight from these shift-based indices reveals inconvenient truths for radiology groups and hospitals,” said Jordan Halter, vice president of solutions for vRad. “Not all hours in a day are created equal for radiology. By isolating data associated with these three shifts, you can better understand the operating implications of your practice or radiology service line very differently. These kinds of radiology fundamentals will help us make evidence-based decisions and not those driven by the status quo, intuition, or conjecture.”
vRad will host a free public webinar to discuss these indices on March 6. For more information, visit vRad.
