by Marius Ged, on Dec 29, 2022 12:01:07 PM
Welcome to the November edition of our monthly radiology news, brought to you by Ged Lawyers.
Our roundups cover everything from new imaging techniques and research to the latest firm growth strategies for increased revenue. Stay tuned for updates on the latest happenings in medical imaging!
What's New in Florida Radiology
1) Tampa's South Florida Radiology Will Start Offering Interpretive Services to New Clients
Pediatric Teleradiology Partners (PedTelerad Partners), a division of South Florida Radiology, has added two new clients to its roster, Virginia’s Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters (CHKD) and ProScan Imaging, LLC, which operates 19 facilities in six states.
The physician-owned teleradiology clinic already provides interpretive services to many hospitals, clinics, and imaging facilities. Teleradiology is a forerunner in adopting artificial intelligence (AI) to develop highly accurate reporting efficiency.
PedTelerad offers diagnostic services led by radiologists with specialties in pediatrics, musculoskeletal (MSK), and body imaging, though the clinic provides interpretive services in all subfields.
“As we continue to expand our Pediatric radiology and subspecialty radiology interpretive services across the US, we are excited to be reading exams for one of the premier Children's Hospitals in the U.S.(CHKD) and integrate with one of the largest providers of imaging services on the east coast, ProScan,” said CEO of South Florida Radiology Seth Crapp, MD.
Industry Updates
1) Lisa Adams, President-Elect of the Florida Radiology Business Management Association, Discusses Gender Parity in Radiology
Women comprise only a small percentage of radiologists and hold an even smaller percentage of radiology leadership roles. Only 26 percent of practicing radiologists are women, and they hold only 13 percent of management roles.
Lisa Adams, the recently elected president of the Florida Radiology Business Management Association (FRBMA) and the CEO of Radiology Imaging Associates (RA) in Daytona Beach, talked about how to encourage more women to become radiologists and assume supervisory positions.
In her own career trajectory, Lisa focused on building relationships, developing her skills, and standing up for herself. She suggests that other aspiring women leaders do the same: see themselves as necessary, not burdensome, in radiology.
“Don't see yourself as a label that needs to be overcome. See yourself as an individual defined by their skills, performance and responsiveness to situations and others. See yourself as the leader,” suggested Lisa.
2) Radiology Oncology Group Develops System to Pinpoint Radiation
At his practice with Advocate Radiation Oncology, Dr. Arie Dosoretz, a radiation oncologist, has developed a new technology that more precisely directs cancer radiation.
The “identify” smart system uses 3-D modeling of patients’ bodies that adjusts to display small movements. Then, the system won’t allow physicians to direct the radiation until the patient is perfectly situated.
Radiation Therapist Byron Doyle explained, “Identity tells us you need x, y, and z. And if we don’t have it, it will not let us proceed.”
The smart system guides physicians to resituate patients so the radiation can pinpoint the cancer while avoiding the healthy tissue.
For instance, women who have breast cancer on the left side of their bodies often develop heart conditions from radiation. The Identify smart system, in turn, could guide patients to breathe deeply so the radiation could avoid the heart partially or entirely while administering breast cancer radiation.
Growing Your Practice
1) Cyber Attackers Increasingly Focus on Specialty Clinics, Not Hospitals
Cybercriminals have set their sights on the healthcare industry for the last several years. But whereas their focus used to be on large hospital systems, they have since focused on smaller hospitals and clinics that are less likely to have the technological defenses of their larger, better-equipped counterparts.
Overall, the total number of data breaches decreased while hackers increasingly focused on mining data from electronic medical records (EMRs). Since 2020, the number of breaches has decreased, affecting 20 million patients, a 10 percent decrease from six months prior. However, hackers were more interested in EMRs than in 2020; this year, they represented eight percent of all breaches, in contrast to zero percent in 2020.
Moreover, criminals increasingly targeted business associates and providers, focusing 10 percent more on business associates and 15 percent more on providers than they had in recent years.
This shift in focus indicates that providers, clinics, and small hospital systems need to invest in cyberattack protections.
“This move from large hospital systems and payers to smaller entities that truly have a deficit when it comes to cyber defenses, shows a massive change in victims and approach,” said John Delano, Healthcare Cybersecurity Strategist at Critical Insight and VP at Christus Health.
2) How Ged Lawyers Retrieved Nearly $4 Million for One Imaging Center
Florida drivers must purchase personal injury protection (PIP) insurance that covers costs for injuries they may sustain in auto accidents. Though PIP will cover up to $10,000 in claims, insurance providers often fail to pay medical providers what they owe in caring for auto accident victims.
For instance, insurance providers failed to pay an imaging center over $3.7 million across over 10,000 PIP claims cases. The imaging center was frustrated with the amount of money they lost in unpaid or underpaid claims so they turned to the attorneys at Ged Lawyers.
After contracting with our firm, the imaging center provided our team of attorneys with their outstanding or underpaid PIP claims that needed to be settled. In many of these cases, we sent a demand letter and received immediate payment. In some instances, we needed to litigate to ensure full payment.
Ultimately, we settled the imaging center’s 10,000+ PIP claims and secured them over $3.7 million in missing funds.
If insurance companies have failed to pay your claims partially or entirely, we can help. Our streamlined Claims Portal simplifies claim recovery, and our team can help you start getting paid quickly.
Call us at (561) 867-4765 or toll-free at 844-4GEDLAW to schedule a consultation.
