Originally published by Michael Walter on Radiology Business

Medical malpractice claims are a significant source of anxiety for all radiologists. Unfortunately, decisions made in the heat of the moment, with the absolute best intentions, can still land a specialist in court.

In my role as chief medical officer for vRad, I’m intimately involved with our radiology malpractice claims and have observed commonalities among them. To quantify these observations, I recently analyzed all 220 claims made against vRad radiologists between June 2017 and October 2020—applying a detailed classification taxonomy including the alleged type of miss, study type, if the standard of care was met, if communication failures contributed, settlement, and so on.

What emerged from that data was a clear set of guidelines to help radiologists avoid the costliest and most likely cases to go to trial.

I am extremely pleased to announce that beginning in 2022, vRad radiologists will see a compensation increase of up to 25%.

This will be the largest pay hike in the history of our practice and it will benefit all vRad radiologists. As part of a long-term reinvestment strategy in our radiologists, it is the fourth increase since 2019 and it reflects our values in compensating radiologists for the time, effort, and expertise required to advance vRad as a premier practice.

Originally published by Michael Walter on Radiology Business

Originally published by Michael Walter on Radiology Business

Imaging providers are continuously filling holes in their radiologist coverage schedule. Maybe the only neuroradiologist is out sick, for example, or two-thirds of the staff all want to attend the same conference.

This is typically when groups turn to locum tenens, but the high cost, time-consuming logistics, and unpredictable performance can be a thorn in the side for imaging leaders wanting to deliver high-quality patient care in a streamlined and efficient manner.

More than 41% of radiologists separated from at least one practice over a recent four-year period, according to the Journal of the American College of Radiology, underscoring the specialty’s increasingly mobile nature.

Medical facilities bear the brunt of the costs associated with this transiency. Competition for a finite pool of qualified physicians is contributing to salary increases, with the average annual salary for radiologists exceeding $400,000 for the first time in 2019, up 3.6% over the previous year.

But salary growth is only a part of the burden for administrators. When a radiologist leaves, there’s the expense of recruiting and hiring a replacement; until the vacancy is filled, remaining staff must shoulder the stress of additional workload, including managing and training an interim locum tenens or a new hire. Any time a physician departs, there’s potential disruption for patients under their care.

One hard lesson learned during the pandemic is that healthcare providers must be agile­—ready to respond quickly and decisively when inevitable crises strike. When it comes to managing radiology staff in particular, some unique challenges and opportunities surfaced in the wake of COVID-19.

Hire the right radiologists, and your practice will position itself for long term success. But, before extending an offer, how do you ensure that an individual candidate will thrive within your organization?

Today, 96% of healthcare facilities use temporary physicians to fill short term staffing needs. When it comes to radiology, many are discovering that teleradiology providers are a better alternative to traditional locum tenens.