In the do-more-with-less era of healthcare, sustainability has transitioned from an aspirational public relations tool into a financial strategy.
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With study volumes continuing to climb – along with wait times in patient scheduling and staffing shortfalls that don’t show signs of self-correction – health systems are seeking more and different ways to increase access to medical imaging services without dramatically elevating costs.
As diagnostic imaging study volumes spiral and patient wait times for service increase, technology vendors and market-watchers alike all seem to be solving for the same, underlying issue: efficiency. With shortfalls in access to skilled, experienced professionals in the technologist space, and telehealth options increasing in speed and quality, equipment manufacturers believe the answer lies where most of the rest of the economy believes it is to be found as well: artificial intelligence (AI) powered solutions.
For years, interventional radiology (IR) was “one of medicine’s best-kept secrets,” said Kris McVey, vice president of angiography at Siemens Healthineers; “more of a procedure service in the hospital basement.”
At any healthcare facility, a capital project represents a sizeable budget, a business opportunity and a diversity of stakeholder interests. When that project involves the installation, relocation, or expansion of medical imaging equipment, it can become even more complex.
Just as the advancement of medical imaging technologies has evolved nearly every aspect of healthcare delivery in the modern era what it previously could achieve, so too has the refinement of artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-powered solutions compounded those gains, paving the way for new growth in the systems that allow healthcare practitioners access to the inner workings of the body.
Breast cancer screening is at once one of the most significant, life-saving components of women’s healthcare, and also one of the most under-utilized, potentially difficult to access, and under-reimbursed. Finding ways to address those challenges involves advancing not only the technological solutions that underpin breast imaging modalities but the disparities in access to them.
One of the most significant, costly and critical components of owning any piece of medical imaging technology is establishing a network of support around keeping it functioning at a high level for as long as possible. Critical to ensuring that support is a robust service contract; however, the variability and complexity of structuring such an agreement requires careful consideration and a detailed review by subject matter experts.
The work that it takes to land a medical imaging leadership position requires years of professional experience, the achievement of advanced degrees and technical certifications, and the ability to work effectively in a variety of situations with different people.
If the landscape for diagnostic imaging demand in the United States were depicted as a topographical map, it might resemble nothing less than a steep, sharp peak, climbing skyward into a cloud bank.
